Journal of neurosurgery
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Journal of neurosurgery · Dec 2012
Testing different brain metastasis grading systems in stereotactic radiosurgery: Radiation Therapy Oncology Group's RPA, SIR, BSBM, GPA, and modified RPA.
The authors conducted validity testing of the 5 major reported indices for radiosurgically treated brain metastases- the original Radiation Therapy Oncology Group's Recursive Partitioning Analysis (RPA), the Score Index for Radiosurgery in Brain Metastases (SIR), the Basic Score for Brain Metastases (BSBM), the Graded Prognostic Assessment (GPA), and the subclassification of RPA Class II proposed by Yamamoto-in nearly 2500 cases treated with Gamma Knife surgery (GKS), focusing on the preservation of neurological function as well as the traditional endpoint of overall survival. ⋯ The modified RPA subclassification, proposed by Yamamoto, is well balanced in scoring simplicity with respect to case number distribution and statistical results for overall survival. However, a new or revised grading system is necessary for predicting qualitative survival and for selecting the optimal treatment for patients with brain metastasis treated by GKS.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Dec 2012
Interfraction and intrafraction performance of the Gamma Knife Extend system for patient positioning and immobilization.
The Extend system for the Gamma Knife Perfexion makes possible multifractional Gamma Knife treatments. The Extend system consists of a vacuum-monitored immobilization frame and a positioning measurement system used to determine the location of the patient's head within the frame at the time of simulation imaging and before each treatment fraction. The measurement system consists of a repositioning check tool (RCT), which attaches to the Extend frame, and associated digital measuring gauges. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of the Extend system for patient repositioning before each treatment session (fraction) and patient immobilization between (interfraction) and during (intrafraction) each session in the first 10 patients (36 fractional treatments) treated at the University of Virginia. ⋯ The Extend system can be used to reposition and immobilize patients in a radiosurgical setting. However, care should be taken to acquire measurements that can implicitly account for rotations of the patient's head. Further work is required to determine the sensitivity of the vacuum interlock to detect patient motion.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Dec 2012
Clinical results of Gamma Knife surgery for cavernous sinus hemangiomas.
The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the efficacy and safety of Gamma Knife surgery (GKS) for the treatment of cavernous sinus hemangiomas (CSHs). The authors report on 16 patients who underwent GKS as a primary or adjuvant treatment for CSH. ⋯ Magnetic resonance imaging may play an important role in the preoperative diagnosis of CSHs. Gamma Knife surgery may be a safe and effective primary or adjuvant treatment option for CSHs; however, long-term follow-up with more cases is needed to verify the benefits of this treatment.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Dec 2012
Subdural interhemispheric grid electrodes for intracranial epilepsy monitoring: feasibility, safety, and utility: clinical article.
Intracranial monitoring for epilepsy has been proven to enhance diagnostic accuracy and provide localizing information for surgical treatment of intractable seizures. The authors investigated their experience with interhemispheric grid electrodes (IHGEs) to assess the hypothesis that they are feasible, safe, and useful. ⋯ The use of IHGEs in intracranial epilepsy monitoring has a favorable risk profile and in the authors' experience proved to be a valuable component of intracranial investigation, providing the sole evidence for resection of some epileptogenic foci.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Dec 2012
CNTF receptor subunit α as a marker for glioma tumor-initiating cells and tumor grade: laboratory investigation.
Tumor-initiating cells are uniquely resilient to current treatment modalities and play an important role in tumor resistance and recurrence. The lack of specific tumor-initiating cell markers to identify and target these cells presents a major obstacle to effective directed therapy. ⋯ These data indicate that CNTFRα plays a role in the formation or maintenance of tumor-initiating cells in gliomas, is a marker that correlates with histological grade, may underlie treatment resistance in some cases, and is a potential therapeutic target.