Association of 99mTc-MIBI brain SPECT and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) to assess glioma recurrence after radiotherapy.

AIM: The aim of this study was to compare 99mTc-MIBI brain SPECT and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) findings and to evaluate their association. METHODS: Both exams were performed on 30 glioma patients, previously operated and treated with radiotherapy, having MRI doubtful between recurrence and radiotherapy effects. SPECT images were acquired 15 minutes after radiopharmaceutical administration with a dual-head gamma camera. T1/B1 uptake ratio was calculated between a tumor ROI (T1) and a normal mirror symmetric ROI (B1) and T2/B2 ratio was obtained between a ROI in the hottest neoplastic part (T2) and a normal mirror symmetric ROI (B2). 1H-MRS was performed using a 1.5 T system equipped with a spectroscopy package. SPECT and 1H-MRS data were compared with histology after new surgery or with follow-up. RESULTS: SPECT and 1H-MRS showed recurrence in 18 patients (confirmed by biopsy, coinciding only in 17 cases) and were negative in 10 (1 false negative). SPECT and 1H-MRS disagreed in 2 cases of recurrence (1 diagnosed by brain SPECT, 1 by 1H-MRS). T1/B1 ratio mean value (4.26+/-2.5) was significantly lower than T2/B2 (4.93+/-2.81; P<0.001). SPECT and 1H-MRS sensitivity in detecting recurrence was 90%, specificity 100%, accuracy 93%, negative predictive value (NPV) 83% and positive predictive value (PPV) 100%; the associated exams sensitivity was 95%, specificity 100%, accuracy 96.6%, NPV 90.9%, PPV 100%. CONCLUSIONS: Brain SPECT and 1H-MRS have equivalent values of diagnostic parameters in differentiating tumor recurrence and radiation effects, and their association might provide additional information.

Medulloblastoma with lipidized cells versus lipomatous medulloblastoma.

BACKGROUND: Lipomatous medulloblastoma is a recently identified clinicopathological entity, characterized by areas of lipomatous differentiation, manifestation in adults, and apparently by a favorable prognosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In our series of medulloblastomas of adults and children we have found lipidized cells within the tumor in 6 out of 78 cases of adults and in 8 out of 44 cases of children. In 3 adult cases and 3 children cases, lipidized cells were particularly numerous and clustered. RESULTS: Neuronal differentiation was found in 4/6 cases; no case showed GFAP-positive tumor cells. Lipidized cells were constantly immunopositive for vimentin and some of them also for KP-1 and CR3/43. The proliferation potential was evaluated by the immunohistochemical demonstration of MIB-1; MIB-1-labeling index (LI) ranged from 20.8% to 40.5%. No case survived longer than 7 years after diagnosis and postoperative radiotherapy. CONCLUSION: The present 6 cases of heavily lipidized medulloblastoma are not uniform as for age of occurrence, proliferation potential and survival. They do not share the clinical and pathologic features of "lipomatous medulloblastoma". Therefore, the finding of large numbers of lipidized cells in a medulloblastoma does not authorize to diagnose the tumor as "lipomatous medulloblastoma", for which a favorable clinical prognosis is foreseen.

Enoxaparin plus compression stockings compared with compression stockings alone in the prevention of venous thromboembolism after elective neurosurgery.

BACKGROUND: Compression stockings are recommended for prophylaxis against venous thromboembolism in patients undergoing neurosurgery, but anticoagulant agents have not gained wide acceptance because of concern about intracranial bleeding. METHODS: In a multicenter, randomized, double-blind trial, we assessed the efficacy and safety of enoxaparin in conjunction with the use of compression stockings in the prevention of venous thromboembolism in patients undergoing elective neurosurgery. Enoxaparin (40 mg once daily) or placebo was given subcutaneously for not less than seven days beginning within 24 hours after the completion of surgery. The primary end point was symptomatic, objectively confirmed venous thromboembolism or deep-vein thrombosis assessed by bilateral venography, which was performed in all patients on day 8+/-1. Bleeding side effects were carefully assessed. RESULTS: Among the 307 patients assigned to treatment groups, 129 of the 154 patients receiving placebo (84 percent) and 130 of the 153 patients receiving enoxaparin (85 percent) had venographic studies adequate for analysis. An additional patient in the placebo group died before venography of autopsy-confirmed pulmonary embolism. In this analysis, 42 patients given placebo (32 percent) and 22 patients given enoxaparin (17 percent) had deep-vein thrombosis (relative risk in the enoxaparin group, 0.52; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.33 to 0.82; P=0.004). The rates of proximal deep-vein thrombosis were 13 percent in patients receiving placebo and 5 percent in patients receiving enoxaparin (relative risk in the enoxaparin group, 0.41; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.17 to 0.95; P=0.04). Two patients in the placebo group died of autopsy-confirmed pulmonary embolism on days 9 and 16. Major bleeding occurred in four patients receiving placebo (intracranial bleeding in all four) and four patients (intracranial bleeding in three) receiving enoxaparin (3 percent of each group). CONCLUSIONS: Enoxaparin combined with compression stockings is more effective than compression stockings alone for the prevention of venous thromboembolism after elective neurosurgery and does not cause excessive bleeding.

Single versus multiple drug therapy in the combined treatment of malignant gliomas. A multicenter study.

The best treatment of malignant gliomas has been considered to be surgery followed by irradiation and chemotherapy with nitrosourea compounds. Our controlled and randomized trial was designed in 1982 to analyze the effectiveness of multiple-drug versus single-drug therapy in patients bearing malignant gliomas. After 3 weeks from surgery and histopathological diagnosis 173 patients were randomly assigned to receive one of the three chemotherapy regimens: CCNU alone, CCNU plus VM-26 or CCNU plus VM-26 plus 5-FU. Radiotherapy was administered whole-brain (40-45 Gy) and coned-down focal (15-20 Gy) irradiation for a total of 60 Gy (1700 rets) in conjunction with the first course of chemotherapy. 150/173 patients are evaluable. Statistical analysis of results shows a better quality of life and survival for patients treated with polychemotherapy using a three drug combination than two drug or single drug therapy (13.8 vs 14.7 vs 18.2 months MST; P less than 0.01) but with a higher incidence of toxicity problems. An analysis of prognostic factors and their distribution in each arm of the protocol will be made in the near future.

CT-ventriculography in a cystic lesion of the third ventricle.

One case of cystic lesion of the third ventricle is reported. The authors stress the importance of CT combined with ventriculography for the diagnosis of the intraventricular cystic lesions.

Third ventricle gliomas. Report of 7 cases with benign clinical behaviour.

Neoplasms of the third ventricle are lesions arising within the ventricular cavity, often free but more often pedunculated. True third ventricle tumours are surgically removable. In a consecutive surgical series of 580 intracranial tumours the authors operated on 27 lesions of the third ventricle, 7 of which were benign gliomas. The histological diagnosis was polar spongioblastoma in 5 cases and fibrillar subependymal astrocytoma in 2 cases. The dominant clinical features were a slowly progressive or intermittently increased intracranial pressure syndrome, and mental and visual disturbances. CT and CSF contrastographic studies provided the essential diagnostic data for the therapeutic plan. CT scans at follow-up studies confirmed the successful removal of the lesions. A right trans-ventricular approach was employed in all cases. Depending on the size and position of the lesion, removal was performed through the foramen of Monro or through a sub-choroidal approach. In two patients a ventriculo-atrial shunt was necessary in spite of tumour removal. No surgical mortality occurred and patients are well at a follow-up time of from 2 to 6 years.

Medulloblastoma in childhood. Multidisciplinary treatment.

20 medulloblastomas in children were treated at the Neurosurgical Department of Perugia over the last 6 years. The age ranged between 1.2 and 15 years, with a mean of 8 years. The ratio between males and females was 3/1. Only three tumors were localized within one cerebellar hemisphere. A shunt was performed before the removal of the tumor in 12 cases. Radical resection was completed in 15 cases, whereas a subtotal removal was performed in the cases with involvement of the brain stem. The postoperative mortality rate was 5%. The 3-year survival rate was 40% and the 5-year 25%. The postoperative radiotherapy was given at lower doses than usually reported by other authors: this seems to reduce the neuropsychological and endocrinological sequelae. CCNU of BCNU were given after radiotherapy, but this monochemotherapy seems to be less effective than polychemotherapy with CCNU, vincristine, procarbazine and dexamethasone, used in this series when relapse occurred. Radical resection improved the prognosis. The opportunity of using different protocols for 'low risk' and for 'high risk' patients is finally discussed.

Posterior approach in cervical spondylotic myeloradiculopathy.

Clinical and radiological data are reported concerning 44 patients suffering from cervical spondylotic myeloradiculopathy, and operated by the posterior approach; late results are evaluated. Type of onset, signs and symptoms are specified. Myeloradicular involvement was present in 52% of cases, medullary in 41%, radicular in 7%. Congenital stenosis was present in 68% of patients. Laminectomy was performed at 2-3 levels in 4 cases, at 4 levels in 10 cases, at 5 levels in 14, and extended to 6 or more levels in 16 patients. Posterior foraminotomy was performed 28 times. At follow-up evaluation (6 months to 8 years) results were "excellent good" in 46% of cases, "fair" in 34%, "unchanged" in 9%, and "worse" in 11%. First symptoms appeared more than 2 years before surgical treatment in 22 patients, between 2 years and 6 months in 15, and less than 6 months before in 7 patients. In this study a statistically significant inverse relation is demonstrated between: 1. results and duration of the disease, 2. results and gravity of motor deficits.

Human malignant gliomas treated with chemotherapy: a pathological study.

Twenty-one malignant cerebral tumors treated with chemotherapy after operation or clinical diagnosis were studied. The brains were cut in coronal slices that were embedded in paraffin. The histological picture of the whole tumor and of the adjacent normal tissue was carefully investigated, and it was compared with the histological features noted on biopsy. The general characteristics of glioblastoma, including wide central necrosis, were present in all of the cases. No specific alterations referable to chemotherapy were found. The increase of monstrous cells and the decrease of mitoses, although observable in some areas, were not of general importance. There was a statistical relationship between the occurrence of reactive astrocytes with bizarre nuclei and repeated chemotherapy or length of time after radiotherapy.