Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Cell 2020 May 20. Epub 2020 May 20.

The Arthur and Sonia Labatt Brain Tumor Research Center, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada; Developmental & Stem Cell Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada; Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1L7, Canada; Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1L7, Canada; Division of Neurosurgery, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 1L7, Canada. Electronic address:

Posterior fossa A (PFA) ependymomas are lethal malignancies of the hindbrain in infants and toddlers. Lacking highly recurrent somatic mutations, PFA ependymomas are proposed to be epigenetically driven tumors for which model systems are lacking. Here we demonstrate that PFA ependymomas are maintained under hypoxia, associated with restricted availability of specific metabolites to diminish histone methylation, and increase histone demethylation and acetylation at histone 3 lysine 27 (H3K27). Read More

J Neuroophthalmol 2020 Apr 15. Epub 2020 Apr 15.

Departments of Ophthalmology (WJA, MAG, SMC), Pathology (MAG), and Neurology (SMC), Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri; and Department of Radiology (AS), Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.

A 26-year-old woman presented for a routine contact lens evaluation but was found to have a subtle right sixth nerve paresis and adducting nystagmus of the left eye. She reported horizontal diplopia on far right gaze as well as subjective right-sided weakness and poor balance for 1 year. Brain and spinal MRI revealed multiple cystic lesions with variable enhancement throughout the posterior fossa and cervical spinal cord. Read More

Eur J Radiol 2020 May 5;128:108983. Epub 2020 May 5.

Department of Neurosurgery, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3, Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima, Japan. Electronic address:

Purpose: The pediatric posterior fossa (PF) brain tumors with higher frequencies are embryonal tumors (ET), ependymal tumors (EPN) and pilocytic astrocytomas (PA), however, it is often difficult to make a differential diagnosis among them with conventional MRI. The ADC calculated from DWI could be beneficial for diagnostic work up.

Method: We acquired DWI at b = 1000 and 4000(s/mm). Read More

J Med Imaging Radiat Sci 2020 May 15. Epub 2020 May 15.

Neuroradiology and MRI Section, National Hospital of Sri Lanka, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Introduction: The presence of peritumoral oedema or mass effect with intracranial meningiomas is associated with poor clinical outcomes. This study aimed to investigate magnetic resonance (MR) morphologic features of meningioma, which can predict peritumoral oedema and mass effect.

Methods: Data of 100 consecutive patients diagnosed with meningioma on MRI brain at the neurosurgical MRI unit, National Hospital of Sri Lanka, reported by a Consultant Radiologist were analysed in a retrospective study. Read More

Heliyon 2020 May 8;6(5):e03880. Epub 2020 May 8.

Departments of Neurosurgery, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, China.

Objectives: Postoperative pneumonia (POP) is one of the common complications associated with mortality and morbidity. Even so, it has received little intensive research after microsurgical removal for posterior fossa meningioma (PFM). In this study, we aimed to identify perioperative factors for POP after PFM microsurgery to risk-stratify patients and improve clinical outcomes. Read More

Cureus 2020 Apr 11;12(4):e7636. Epub 2020 Apr 11.

Neurosurgery, New York University (NYU) School of Medicine, New York, USA.

Chiari I malformation is the herniation of cerebellar tonsils below the level of the foramen magnum due to congenital or acquired pathologies. Acquired Chiari I malformation (ACM) may occur secondary to space-occupying lesions (SOLs), such as intracranial tumors due to elevated intracranial pressure (ICP), and can be accompanied by syringomyelia. ACM and syringomyelia have been shown to resolve after resection of the SOL, without the need for adjuvant posterior fossa decompression. Read More

Oper Neurosurg (Hagerstown) 2020 May 11. Epub 2020 May 11.

The Loyal and Edith Davis Neurosurgical Research Laboratory, Department of Neurosurgery, Barrow Neurological Institute, St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona.

Skull base epidermoid tumors, meningiomas, and schwannomas can be accessed by different techniques depending on the location and size of the lesion. Small lesions located anterior to the internal acoustic meatus (IAM) can be accessed via the subtemporal approach, and lesions located posterior to the IAM can be approached via retrosigmoid craniotomy. However, expansive lesions that are located anterior to the IAM and extend posteriorly toward the lower clivus can be accessed via the petrosal approach. Read More

Childs Nerv Syst 2020 May 6. Epub 2020 May 6.

Department of Proteomics, Division of Biotechnology, Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece.

Ependymomas, affecting both children and adults, are neuroepithelial tumors occurring throughout all compartments of the central nervous system. Pediatric ependymomas arise almost exclusively intracranially and are associated with a poor 10-year overall survival of around 60%. During the last years, the application of multi-omics technologies on the study and understanding of neuro-cancer diseases has become a standard; in this regard, application of these approaches on ependymomas has gained noticeable momentum. Read More

J Craniofac Surg 2020 May 4. Epub 2020 May 4.

Department of Otorhinolaryngology With Maxillofacial Surgery, Clinical Hospital Center 'Zemun', Vukova 9, 11080, Zemun, Serbia.

Lipomas are the most common benign mesenchymal tumors, composed of mature adipocytes, and may occur anywhere in the body where fatty tissue is present. Neck lipomas are rare and usually appear as solitary, small (<5 cm), and asymptomatic lesions located in the subcutis of posterior neck. Giant anterior neck lipomas are exceptionally rare and, other than cosmetic concerns, seldom present with respiratory symptoms. Read More

World Neurosurg 2020 May 1. Epub 2020 May 1.

Department of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8575, Japan.

Background: Pediatric meningiomas account for less than 2% of pediatric brain tumors. Pediatric clear cell meningiomas (CCM) occurring in the posterior fossa are particularly rare. Therapeutic strategies differ among the previous pediatric CCM case reports. Read More

Neuroradiol J 2020 May 5:1971400920920787. Epub 2020 May 5.

New Era Stroke Care and Research Institute, The PLA Rocket Force General Hospital, Beijing, China.

Background: We describe use of a canine model to evaluate physiological effects and neuroprotective strategies in the setting of cerebral ischemia and endovascular neurosurgery training.

Methods: We performed transfemoral digital subtraction cerebral and cervical angiography on eight anesthetized dogs. Angiographic images of cerebral arteries were obtained following cannulation of the femoral artery. Read More

Surg Neurol Int 2020 11;11:64. Epub 2020 Apr 11.

Departments of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Dubrava, Zagreb, Croatia.

Background: Biphasic tumors of the central nervous system are rarely described and mainly consisted out of the glial and mesenchymal component. The tumor originated out of both astrocytes and pinealocytes, best to our knowledge, has not been described. We present a case of a brain tumor consisted out of pilocytic astrocytoma (PA) and pineocytoma as components situated in the pineal region and posterior cranial fossa in young adult. Read More

J Neurosurg Pediatr 2020 May 1:1-9. Epub 2020 May 1.

2Neurosurgery.

Objective: Chemotherapy infusions directly into the fourth ventricle may play a role in treating malignant fourth-ventricular tumors. This study tested the safety and pharmacokinetics of short-term and long-term administration of MTX110 (soluble panobinostat; Midatech Pharma) into the fourth ventricle of nonhuman primates.

Methods: Four rhesus macaque monkeys underwent posterior fossa craniectomy and catheter insertion into the fourth ventricle. Read More

Neurol Genet 2020 Jun 1;6(3):e414. Epub 2020 Apr 1.

National Institutes of Health (J.S.R., A.J.C., H.W., Z.Z.), National Cancer Institute Neuro-Oncology Branch; National Institutes of Health (D.P.A., J.D.H.), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Surgical Neurology Branch; National Institutes of Health (Y.P., A.J., K.P.), Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Section on Medical Neuroendocrinology; Georgetown Hospital (M.A.N.), Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Washington DC; National Institutes of Health (J.P.M., D.R.D.), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Mouse Imaging Facility, Bethesda, MD; George Washington University (J.G.S.), Radiology, Washington DC; National Library of Medicine (J.G.S.), MedPix®; National Institutes of Health (M.M.M.), Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Laboratory of Pathology; and National Institutes of Health (R.H.K., B.A.K.), National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, Translational Vascular Medicine Branch, Bethesda, MD.

Objective: To investigate the effect of somatic, postzygotic, gain-of-function mutation of Endothelial Per-Arnt-Sim (PAS) domain protein 1 () encoding hypoxia-inducible factor-2α (HIF-2α) on posterior fossa development and spinal dysraphism in gain-of-function syndrome, which consists of multiple paragangliomas, somatostatinoma, and polycythemia.

Methods: Patients referred to our institution for evaluation of new, recurrent, and/or metastatic paragangliomas/pheochromocytoma were confirmed for gain-of-function syndrome by identification of the gain-of-function mutation in resected tumors and/or circulating leukocytes. The posterior fossa, its contents, and the spine were evaluated retrospectively on available MRI and CT images of the head and neck performed for tumor staging and restaging. Read More

J Clin Neurosci 2020 Apr 23. Epub 2020 Apr 23.

School of Electrical Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China; Industrial Technology Research Institute, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China; Henan Key Laboratory of Brain Science and Brain-Computer Interface Technology, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China. Electronic address:

Mandatory accurate and specific diagnosis demands have brought about increased challenges for radiologists in pediatric posterior fossa tumor prediction and prognosis. With the development of high-performance computing and machine learning technologies, radiomics provides increasing opportunities for clinical decision-making. Several studies have applied radiomics as a decision support tool in intracranial tumors differentiation. Read More

Ann Emerg Med 2020 05;75(5):e29-e30

Department of Radiology, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Laryngoscope 2020 Apr 20. Epub 2020 Apr 20.

Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and Maxillofacial Surgery, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.

Objectives/hypothesis: To describe the histopathology of the invasion patterns of advanced-stage external auditory canal (EAC) squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Study Design Retrospective cohort study.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of medical records of patients diagnosed with EAC SCC available at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear temporal bone (TB) collection. Read More

Ann Diagn Pathol 2020 Apr 13;46:151516. Epub 2020 Apr 13.

Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and Cleveland Clinic Department of Anatomic Pathology, Cleveland, OH, United States of America. Electronic address:

Meningiomas are an uncommon entity in children and adolescents. <30 cases of pediatric clear cell meningioma (CCM), a World Health Organization (WHO) Grade II tumor, have been reported in the literature. These tumors are more likely to recur than the more common WHO Grade I meningiomas, especially with incomplete surgical resection. Read More

Nature 2020 04 1;580(7803):396-401. Epub 2020 Apr 1.

Hopp Children's Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ), Heidelberg, Germany.

Cancer genomics has revealed many genes and core molecular processes that contribute to human malignancies, but the genetic and molecular bases of many rare cancers remains unclear. Genetic predisposition accounts for 5 to 10% of cancer diagnoses in children, and genetic events that cooperate with known somatic driver events are poorly understood. Pathogenic germline variants in established cancer predisposition genes have been recently identified in 5% of patients with the malignant brain tumour medulloblastoma. Read More

Sci Rep 2020 Apr 14;10(1):6267. Epub 2020 Apr 14.

Department of Neurosurgery, Brain Tumor Center, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Hemangioblastomas (HBMs) are known to exhibit very typical radiological features and thus classified by well-established radiological classification scheme. We reviewed our series of posterior fossa HBMs in order not only to evaluate the relevance of current classification scheme, but also to possibly refine it. Also, we added descriptions on several cases with unusual radiological magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in which differential diagnosis was challenging. Read More

Neurosurg Rev 2020 Apr 12. Epub 2020 Apr 12.

Department of Neurosurgery, Tokyo Medical University, Tokyo, Japan.

Surgical approaches to the fourth ventricle and its surrounding brainstem regions have changed significantly in the previous 30 years, after the establishment of cerebellomedullary fissure (CMF) opening. With the development of CMF opening techniques, CMF opening surgeries have become widely used for the treatment of various pathologies and have contributed to the improvement of surgical results in posterior fossa surgeries. We here review the historical progress of CMF opening surgeries to help the future progression of neurosurgical treatments. Read More

Childs Nerv Syst 2020 Apr 8. Epub 2020 Apr 8.

Department of Neurosurgery, Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital, 6621 Fannin St, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.

Purpose: Posterior fossa tumor (PFT) resection can be associated with postoperative respiratory failure. We aimed to identify risk factors predicting tracheostomy dependence in children after PFT resection.

Methods: Retrospective chart review of all children undergoing PFT resection from April 2007 to May 2017 at our institution was performed. Read More

Adv Clin Exp Med 2020 Mar;29(3):331-337

CRUK Imaging Centre at The Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton, London, UK.

Background: More than half of pediatric tumors of central nervous system (CNS) primarily originate in the posterior fossa and are conventionally treated with radiation therapy (RT).

Objectives: The objective of this study was to establish whether corpus callosum volumes (CCV) and whole brain volumes (WBV) are correlated and to determine the impact of whole-brain lowvs high-dose RT on brain parenchymal volume loss as assessed using each technique.

Material And Methods: Of the 30 identified children (6-12 years) with newly diagnosed posterior fossa tumors treated with cranial RT, including focal and whole-brain RT, suitable imaging was obtained for 23. Read More

Acad Radiol 2020 Mar 25. Epub 2020 Mar 25.

School of Physics and Microelectronics, Zhengzhou University, NO.101 Kexue Road, Zhengzhou 450001, PR China. Electronic address:

Rationale And Objectives: Ependymoma (EP) and medulloblastoma (MB) of children are similar in age, location, manifestations and symptoms. Therefore, it is difficult to differentiate them through visual observation in clinical diagnosis. The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of radiomics and machine-learning techniques on multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in distinguish EP from MB. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2020 Mar;99(13):e19651

Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Sichuan Province, China.

Rationale: Intracranial solitary fibrous tumors (SFTs) and hemangiopericytomas (HPCs) are rare spindle cell tumors of mesenchymal origin that include benign and malignant neoplasms.

Patient Concerns: We present a 66-year-old male with a 5-year history of headache and dizziness, with left progressive sensorineural hearing loss over 1 month.

Diagnoses: WHO grade II SFT/HPC originating from the internal auditory canal in the left cerebellopontine angle. Read More

J Neurol Surg B Skull Base 2020 Apr 26;81(2):193-197. Epub 2019 Mar 26.

Division of Neurosurgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, United States.

 Surgery for petroclival tumors is very challenging for neurosurgeons because the position of the tumor in relation to the brainstem, cranial nerves, and posterior fossa vessels greatly restricts the surgical field. Some papers have described using sigmoid sinus ligation to open the surgical field; however, pre- and intraoperative evaluations of the safety of ligation have been limited, despite the risk of complications from venous insufficiency. Here, we describe our method of preoperatively evaluating the potential safety of a retrolabyrinthine transsigmoid approach with nondominant ipsilateral sigmoid sinus ligation (RLTSwSSL). Read More

Cancers (Basel) 2020 Mar 13;12(3). Epub 2020 Mar 13.

Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche "Giulio Natta", Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, 00168 Roma, Italy.

Ependymoma pediatric brain tumor occurs at approximate frequencies of 10-15% in supratentorial and 20-30% in posterior fossa regions. These tumors have an almost selective response to surgery and relative and confirmed resistance to radiotherapy and chemotherapic agents, respectively. Alongside histopathological grading, clinical and treatment evaluation of ependymomas currently consider the tumor localization and the genomic outlined associated molecular subgroups, with the supratentorial and the posterior fossa ependymomas nowadays considered diverse diseases. Read More

World Neurosurg 2020 Mar 5;138:137-140. Epub 2020 Mar 5.

Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. Electronic address:

Background: Germinomas are rare intracranial lesions, with medulla germinomas being reported in only approximately 20 cases to date. These tumors are extremely sensitive to radiotherapy, and knowledge of them can allow for accurate diagnosis as well as significantly impact treatment and prognosis.

Case Description: We present a case of medullary germinoma and review the cases previously reported in the literature. Read More

Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi 2020 Feb;100(6):460-464

Department of Pathology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453003, China.

In this study, we used the Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) analysis to find the gene module that are specifically expressed in Medulloblastoma and screened the marker genes that may diagnose and treat Medulloblastoma. WGCNA was used to identify the gene modules that are specifically associated with suvival in Medulloblastoma. Cytoscape software was used to construct Co-expression Network. Read More

Neurol India 2020 Jan-Feb;68(1):159-162

Department of Neurosurgery, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.

Background: CSF drainage from the ventricular system is a popular and effective technique for intraoperative brain relaxation as it reduces ICP, enlarges extra-axial operative corridors, and slackens the brain increasing its tolerance for surgical manipulation. However, sometimes when the ventricular chambers distant from the site of pathology are tapped, there is a risk of neurological worsening due to paradoxical herniation of the brain, exemplified by the phenomenon of upward transtentorial herniation observed in posterior fossa tumors, consequent to a supratentorial ventriculostomy. Expectation of an analogous phenomenon precludes contralateral ventricular drainage in supratentorial brain tumors producing midline shift, subfalcine herniation, and resultant distension of the opposite lateral ventricles. Read More

Childs Nerv Syst 2020 Mar 2. Epub 2020 Mar 2.

Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 225 E. Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL, USA.

Objective: Choroid plexus tumors (CPTs) are rare pediatric intracranial neoplasms, and mostly occur in the lateral ventricle. CPTs located in the infratentorial location are considered to be rare in the pediatric population. We present a series of eight patients treated in the last decade at our institution focusing on clinical presentations and their outcome after excision. Read More

Clin Imaging 2020 Jul 25;63:30-34. Epub 2020 Feb 25.

Department of Pathology, Hospital Universitário Walter Cantídio, 1290 Pastor Samuel Munguba St, Rodolfo Teófilo, 60430-372 Fortaleza, Brazil.

Pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma (PXA) is a rare glioma usually occurring in children and young adults. It is a benign World Health Organization (WHO) grade II tumor that accounts for <1% of all astrocytomas. Its occurrence in the infratentorial compartment is rare, and the cerebellum is the most common of the unusual locations. Read More

Front Oncol 2020 7;10:71. Epub 2020 Feb 7.

Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.

We applied machine learning algorithms for differentiation of posterior fossa tumors using apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram analysis and structural MRI findings. A total of 256 patients with intra-axial posterior fossa tumors were identified, of whom 248 were included in machine learning analysis, with at least 6 representative subjects per each tumor pathology. The ADC histograms of solid components of tumors, structural MRI findings, and patients' age were applied to construct decision models using Classification and Regression Tree analysis. Read More

Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo) 2020 ;68(3):194-200

Drug Discovery Structural Biology Platform Unit, RIKEN Biosystems Dynamics Research.

Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) and diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) are diseases that typically manifest in childhood and are associated with severely reduced life expectancy. However, there are currently no effective therapies for these diseases, which remain incurable. Activin receptor-like kinase-2 (ALK2), encoded by the ACVR1 gene, is a bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) type-I receptor subtype that plays an important physiological role in the development of bones, muscles, brain, and other organs. Read More

BMC Med Genet 2020 02 27;21(1):42. Epub 2020 Feb 27.

Boler-Parseghian Center for Rare and Neglected Diseases, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA.

Background: von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease is a familial neoplasia syndrome that results from the germline mutation of VHL. Pathogenic VHL mutations include deletion, frameshift, nonsense and missense mutations. Synonymous mutations are expected to be phenotypically silent and their role in VHL disease remains poorly understood. Read More

J Neurosurg Pediatr 2020 Feb 21:1-10. Epub 2020 Feb 21.

1Department of Neurosurgery, Alder Hey NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool.

Objective: Children with posterior fossa tumors (PFTs) may present with hydrocephalus. Persistent (or new) hydrocephalus is common after PFT resection. Endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) is sometimes performed prior to resection to 1) temporize hydrocephalus prior to resection and 2) prophylactically treat post-resection hydrocephalus. Read More

Can Assoc Radiol J 2020 May 27;71(2):186-194. Epub 2020 Jan 27.

Department of Radiology, The Ottawa Hospital, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

The tectal plate comprises the posterior portion of the midbrain, borders the quadrigeminal cistern, and includes the superior and inferior colliculi. Benign and malignant pathologies occurring in this location may lead to aqueductal stenosis, obstructive hydrocephalus, and Parinaud syndrome. Both computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging can be used to further characterize lesions involving the tectal plate. Read More

Neurosurg Rev 2020 Feb 13. Epub 2020 Feb 13.

Department of Neurosurgery, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, Moorenstrasse 5, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany.

The cerebellum is historically implicated in motor coordination, but accumulating modern evidence indicates involvement in non-motor domains, including cognition, emotion, and language. This correlates with the symptoms observed in postoperative cerebellar mutism syndrome (CMS). Profound knowledge of cerebellar functional topography and tractography is important when approaching cerebellar tumors, as surgical trauma to relevant structures of cerebellar pathways plays a role in the pathogenesis of CMS. Read More

Dermatol Online J 2019 Nov 15;25(11). Epub 2019 Nov 15.

University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY.

Unilateral hyperhidrosis of neurological origin has been associated with head trauma, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, peripheral neuropathy, lesions of the hypothalamus, and cerebral or brainstem strokes. In this report, we describe a 61-year-old man with isolated sweating on the left side of his entire body. A right-sided brainstem meningioma producing mass effect is suspected as the underlying etiology. Read More

Spine Surg Relat Res 2020 1;4(1):64-68. Epub 2019 Nov 1.

Division of Orthopedic Surgery, Chiba Cancer Center, Chiba, Japan.

Introduction: Leptomeningeal metastasis (LM) is known to demonstrate a very poor prognosis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic factors in LM cases diagnosed by spinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 19 patients with LM detected by spinal MRI between 2010 and 2017. Read More

J Clin Pathol 2020 May 7;73(5):243-249. Epub 2020 Feb 7.

Arkadi M Rywlin MD Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach, Florida, USA

Medulloblastoma (MB) is the most common malignant primary intracranial neoplasm diagnosed in childhood. Although numerous efforts have been made during the past few years to exploit novel targeted therapies for this aggressive neoplasm, there still exist substantial hitches hindering successful management of MB. Lately, progress in cancer biology has shown evidence that a subpopulation of cells within the tumour, namely cancer stem cells (CSCs), are thought to be responsible for the resistance to most chemotherapeutic agents and radiation therapy, accounting for cancer recurrence. Read More

Zh Vopr Neirokhir Im N N Burdenko 2019 ;83(6):44-57

Burdenko Neurosurgical Center, Moscow, Russia.

Purpose: In recent years, neurosurgery has been characterized by a clear tendency towards the development of minimally invasive and less traumatic surgical approaches. To minimize the degree of injury to the brain tissue, we have proposed burr hole-based microsurgical approaches.

Material And Methods: In the period between February 2016 and February 2019, more than 500 microsurgical interventions were performed through a 14 mm burr hole using a technique that we called burr-hole microneurosurgery; to date, 200 of these have been analyzed. Read More

Childs Nerv Syst 2020 May 5;36(5):941-949. Epub 2020 Feb 5.

Department of Neurosurgery, Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Acıbadem University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.

Purpose: Posterior fossa ependymomas (PFE) are among the most frequently occurring solid tumors in children. Their definitive treatment is surgical excision and adjuvant radio-chemotherapy. This study aimed to investigate prognostic effects of age, H3K27me3 status, extent of resection, radiation treatment (RT), Ki67 index, WHO grade, and ATRX and H3K27M mutations in PFE patients. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2020 Jan;99(3):e18871

Department of Neurosurgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, P. R. China.

Rationale: Hemangioblastomas (HMGs) originating from the cerebellopontine angle (CPA) are extremely uncommon. Nevertheless, the cystic-solid form of this lesion at the above location is even rarer.

Patient Concerns: We present a 31-years old male with a right ear hearing loss of 3 months duration. Read More

Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi 2020 Jan;100(3):178-181

School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, International laboratory for Children's Medical Imaging Research Nanjing, Nanjing 210096, China.

To evaluate the classification of the types of pediatric posterior fossa brain tumors based on routine MRI (T(1)WI, T(2)WI and ADC) using wavelet transformation analysis of whole tumor. MRI images of medulloblastoma (59), ependymoma (13) and pilocytic astrocytoma (27) confirmed by pathology before treatments in Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 2014 to February 2019 were enrolled in this retrospective study as well as the clinical data of age, gender and symptoms. Registration was performed among the three sequences and wavelet features of ROI were acquired. Read More

Nat Commun 2020 Jan 29;11(1):583. Epub 2020 Jan 29.

Armenise-Harvard Laboratory of Brain Cancer, Department CIBIO, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 9, 38123, Trento, Italy.

Medulloblastoma (MB) is the most common malignant brain tumor in children and among the subtypes, Group 3 MB has the worst outcome. Here, we perform an in vivo, patient-specific screen leading to the identification of Otx2 and c-MYC as strong Group 3 MB inducers. We validated our findings in human cerebellar organoids where Otx2/c-MYC give rise to MB-like organoids harboring a DNA methylation signature that clusters with human Group 3 tumors. Read More

Clin Epigenetics 2020 Jan 28;12(1):19. Epub 2020 Jan 28.

Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, 119# South 4th Ring Road, Fengtai District, Beijing, 100070, China.

Background: 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) is a novel epigenetic mark and may be involved in the mechanisms of tumorigenesis and malignant transformation. However, the role of 5hmC in ependymoma, the third most common brain tumor in children, remains unclear. The aim of this study sought to identify the characterization of 5hmC levels in pediatric posterior fossa ependymoma and to evaluate whether 5hmC levels could be a potential factor to predict clinical outcomes. Read More

PLoS One 2020 23;15(1):e0227693. Epub 2020 Jan 23.

Department of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology, University Medical Centre, Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.

Young children with brain tumours are at high risk of developing treatment-related sequelae. We aimed to assess neuropsychological outcomes 5 years after treatment. This cross-sectional study included children under 4 years of age with medulloblastoma (MB) or ependymoma (EP) enrolled in the German brain tumour trials HIT2000 and HIT-REZ2005. Read More

World Neurosurg 2020 Apr 7;136:58-61. Epub 2020 Jan 7.

Department of Neuroradiology, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Integrata Santa Maria della Misericordia, Udine, Italy.

Background: Infratentorial multinodular lesions resembling multinodular and vacuolating neuronal tumor of the cerebrum (MVNT) have been indicated in literature with 2 different names reflecting alternative perspectives: multinodular and vacuolating posterior fossa lesions of unknown significance (MV-PLUS), suggesting that these lesions may belong to a new entity, and MVNT of the brain, assuming that they actually correspond to infratentorial MVNT. Because of the limited number of cases reported and the absence of histopathologic data, it is unclear which denomination should be used.

Cases Description: Two patients, a 41-year-old man (case 1) suffering headache and a 44-year-old man (case 2) with vertigo, underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination. Read More

Radiol Med 2020 Apr 8;125(4):416-422. Epub 2020 Jan 8.

UOC Radiodiagnostica e Neuroradiologia, Dipartimento di Diagnostica per Immagini, Radioterapia, Oncologia ed Ematologia, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.

Purpose: To assess the accuracy of dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced perfusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in glioma grading and brain tumor characterization of infratentorial tumors, and to investigate differences from supratentorial tumors.

Methods: This retrospective study, approved by the institutional review board, included 246 patients with brain tumors (184 supratentorial, 62 infratentorial), grouped by tumor type: high-grade gliomas (HGG), low-grade gliomas (LGG), metastases (Met), and primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL). Relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV) and mean percentage of signal recovery (PSR) were calculated. Read More