The role of diffusion tensor tractography in the surgical treatment of pediatric optic chiasmatic gliomas

The role of surgery for optic pathway gliomas in the era of precision medicine

Optic pathway gliomas (OPGs) represent a unique subset of brain tumours that primarily affect the paediatric population. Traditionally, these tumours are managed conservatively due to their location to and association with vital structures. This article explores the evolving role of surgery in the management of OPGs, particularly in the context of advancements in precision medicine. The advent of targeted therapy, especially for tumours with specific genetic alterations, such as BRAF V600E mutations, has revolutionized the treatment landscape, offering new avenues for patient-specific therapy. However, surgery still plays a crucial role, especially for debulking in cases of hydrocephalus or when standard therapies are ineffective. Advances in surgical techniques, including neuronavigation, endoscopic approaches, and intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring, have enhanced the safety and efficacy of operative interventions. Despite these developments, the complexity of OPGs necessitates a multidisciplinary approach, focusing on long-term outcomes and quality of life. Future research is needed to further elucidate the role of surgery in an era increasingly dominated by molecular genetics and targeted therapies.

Methods of diffusion MRI tractography for localization of the anterior optic pathway: A systematic review of validated methods

The anterior optic pathway (AOP) is a system of three structures (optic nerves, optic chiasma, and optic tracts) that convey visual stimuli from the retina to the lateral geniculate nuclei. A successful reconstruction of the AOP using tractography could be helpful in several clinical scenarios, from presurgical planning and neuronavigation of sellar and parasellar surgery to monitoring the stage of fiber degeneration both in acute (e.g., traumatic optic neuropathy) or chronic conditions that affect AOP structures (e.g., amblyopia, glaucoma, demyelinating disorders or genetic optic nerve atrophies). However, its peculiar anatomy and course, as well as its surroundings, pose a serious challenge to obtaining successful tractographic reconstructions. Several AOP tractography strategies have been adopted but no standard procedure has been agreed upon. We performed a systematic review of the literature according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines in order to find the combinations of acquisition and reconstruction parameters that have been performed previously and have provided the highest rate of successful reconstruction of the AOP, in order to promote their routine implementation in clinical practice. For this purpose, we reviewed data regarding how the process of anatomical validation of the tractographies was performed. The Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions was used to assess the risk of bias and thus the study quality We identified thirty-nine studies that met our inclusion criteria, and only five were considered at low risk of bias and achieved over 80% of successful reconstructions. We found a high degree of heterogeneity in the acquisition and analysis parameters used to perform AOP tractography and different combinations of them can achieve satisfactory levels of anterior optic tractographic reconstruction both in real-life research and clinical scenarios. One thousand s/mm2 was the most frequently used b value, while both deterministic and probabilistic tractography algorithms performed morphological reconstruction of the tract satisfactorily, although probabilistic algorithms estimated a more realistic percentage of crossing fibers (45.6%) in healthy subjects. A wide heterogeneity was also found regarding the method used to assess the anatomical fidelity of the AOP reconstructions. Three main strategies can be found: direct visual direct visual assessment of the tractography superimposed to a conventional MR image, surgical evaluation, and computational methods. Because the latter is less dependent on a priori knowledge of the anatomy by the operator, computational methods of validation of the anatomy should be considered whenever possible.

Clinical Outcome of Optic Pathway and Hypothalamic Gliomas: A 20-Year Single-Institution Retrospective Study

BACKGROUND

Optic pathway and hypothalamic gliomas (OPHGs) are challenging to surgically remove owing to their anatomical relationship. We previously reported on surgical treatment outcomes over a 10-year time frame. The purpose of this study was to update the OPHG clinical outcomes for cases in which chemotherapy has become the primary treatment option. The role of surgery was also revisited.

METHODS

Patients with a diagnosis of OPHG who underwent treatment at Seoul National University Children's Hospital from February 1999 to July 2019 were included. A multidisciplinary approach was used to determine the patients' treatment plans. Chemotherapy was the first-line treatment for all patients. When symptoms of hydrocephalus existed, debulking surgery was performed to reopen the flow of cerebrospinal fluid.

RESULTS

The study included 47 patients with OPHGs. The mean age was 6.9 years. Neurofibromatosis 1 was diagnosed in 3 patients. The extent of removal was none or biopsy in 13 (28%) cases, partial resection in 23 (49%) cases, and subtotal to gross total resection in 11 (23%) cases. In 32 (68%) patients, chemotherapy was first-line treatment. Ascites after ventriculoperitoneal shunt occurred in 3 cases, and 2 cases were successfully managed with debulking surgery. Treatment outcomes showed a 5-year overall survival rate of 97.7% and a 5-year progression-free survival rate of 47.7%.

CONCLUSIONS

OPHG management using less invasive operations and chemotherapy as first-line treatment is feasible. Debulking surgery in patients with OPHGs may be considered in cases with cerebrospinal fluid pathway obstruction, progression despite chemotherapy or radiation, and refractory shunt-related ascites.

The Visual Acuity Outcome and Relevant Factors Affecting Visual Improvement in Pediatric Sporadic Chiasmatic-Hypothalamic Glioma Patients Who Received Surgery

Background: The role and effectiveness of primary surgical treatment for sporadic chiasmatic–hypothalamic glioma (CHG) are not clear. The present study was to describe sporadic CHG visual acuity (VA) outcomes after surgery and to analyze the relevant factors affecting VA improvement.

Methods: Forty-five pediatric sporadic CHG patients who met the inclusion criteria were included in a retrospective study. All patients received primary intratumor partial resection. Disease characteristics, treatment strategies, complications, and VA outcome were analyzed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify relevant factors of VA improvement. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to evaluate the predictive accuracy of measurement indexes.

Results: There were 77 eyes of 45 children suffering from various levels of VA impairment before surgical treatment, and only 13 eyes had normal vision. Patients with resection extents >70, 50–70, and <50% accounted for 26.67, 24.44, and 48.89%, respectively. The percentages of VA maintained and deteriorated in normal vision eyes were 61.54 and 38.46%. The percentages of VA improved, maintained, and deteriorated in visually impaired eyes after surgery were 29.87, 45.45, and 24.68%, respectively. There was a positive correlation between the IVA level and VA improvement. There was no significant difference in VA improvement between the different resection extents. Blindness occurred in ~4.4%. Approximately 11.1% of the children had complications that affected quality of life, which correlated with resection extent. IVA and tumor size were correlated with VA improvement. The AUC for IVA + tumor size predicting VA improvement was 0.831. The cutoff points for IVA level and tumor volume were 4.5 and 43.50 cm³, respectively.

Conclusions: IVA and tumor size were correlated with VA improvement after primary intratumor partial resection. Children with IVA ≥ level 5 were more likely to achieve visual improvement after decompression surgery, but decompression had limited effectiveness on vision improvement in patients with tumor volumes ≥ 43.50 cm³. Performing resections < 50% was safe and did not reduce the effect of decompression to improve VA.

Tractography in Neurosurgery: A Systematic Review of Current Applications

The ability to visualize the brain's fiber connections noninvasively in vivo is relatively young compared with other possibilities of functional magnetic resonance imaging. Although many studies showed tractography to be of promising value for neurosurgical care, the implications remain inconclusive. An overview of current applications is presented in this systematic review. A search was conducted for (("tractography" or "fiber tracking" or "fibre tracking") and "neurosurgery") that produced 751 results. We identified 260 relevant articles and added 20 more from other sources. Most publications concerned surgical planning for resection of tumors (n = 193) and vascular lesions (n = 15). Preoperative use of transcranial magnetic stimulation was discussed in 22 of these articles. Tractography in skull base surgery presents a special challenge (n = 29). Fewer publications evaluated traumatic brain injury (TBI) (n = 25) and spontaneous intracranial bleeding (n = 22). Twenty-three articles focused on tractography in pediatric neurosurgery. Most authors found tractography to be a valuable addition in neurosurgical care. The accuracy of the technique has increased over time. There are articles suggesting that tractography improves patient outcome after tumor resection. However, no reliable biomarkers have yet been described. The better rehabilitation potential after TBI and spontaneous intracranial bleeding compared with brain tumors offers an insight into the process of neurorehabilitation. Tractography and diffusion measurements in some studies showed a correlation with patient outcome that might help uncover the neuroanatomical principles of rehabilitation itself. Alternative corticofugal and cortico-cortical networks have been implicated in motor recovery after ischemic stroke, suggesting more complex mechanisms in neurorehabilitation that go beyond current models. Hence tractography may potentially be able to predict clinical deficits and rehabilitation potential, as well as finding possible explanations for neurologic disorders in retrospect. However, large variations of the results indicate a lack of data to establish robust diagnostical concepts at this point. Therefore, in vivo tractography should still be interpreted with caution and by experienced surgeons.

Surgical outcome of motor deficits and neurological status in brainstem cavernous malformations based on preoperative diffusion tensor imaging: a prospective randomized clinical trial

OBJECTIVE: Surgical management of brainstem lesions is challenging due to the highly compact, eloquent anatomy of the brainstem. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of preoperative diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) in brainstem cavernous malformations (CMs). METHODS: A prospective randomized controlled clinical trial was performed by using stratified blocked randomization. The primary eligibility criterion of the study was being a surgical candidate for brainstem CMs (with informed consent). The study enrolled 23 patients who underwent preoperative DTI/DTT and 24 patients who did not (the control group). The pre- and postoperative muscle strength of both limbs and modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores were evaluated. Muscle strength of any limb at 12 months after surgery at the clinic visit was the primary outcome; worsened muscle strength was considered to be a poor outcome. Outcome assessors were blinded to patient management. This study reports the preliminary results of the interim analysis. RESULTS: The cohort included 47 patients (22 women) with a mean age of 35.7 years. The clinical baselines between these 2 groups were not significantly different. In the DTI/DTT group, the corticospinal tract was affected in 17 patients (73.9%): it was displaced, deformed/partially interrupted, or completely interrupted in 6, 7, and 4 patients, respectively. The surgical approach and brainstem entry point were adjusted in 3 patients (13.0%) based on DTI/DTT data. The surgical morbidity of the DTI/DTT group (7/23, 30.4%) was significantly lower than that of the control group (19/24, 79.2%, p = 0.001). At 12 months, the mean mRS score (1.1, p = 0.034) and percentage of patients with worsened motor deficits (4.3%, p = 0.006) were significantly lower in the DTI/DTT group than in the control group (1.7% and 37.5%). Multivariate logistic regression identified the absence of preoperative DTI/DTT (OR 0.06, 95% CI 0.01-0.73, p = 0.028) and use of the 2-point method (OR 4.15, 95% CI 1.38-12.49, p = 0.011) as independent adverse factors for a worsened motor deficit. The multivariate model found a significant correlation between poor mRS score and both an increased preoperative mRS score (t = 3.559, p = 0.001) and absence of preoperative DTI/DTT (t = -2.747, p = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: DTI/DTT noninvasively allowed for visualization of the anatomical relationship between vital tracts and pathologies as well as facilitated the brainstem surgical approach and entry-point decision making. The technique was valuable for complex neurosurgical planning to reduce morbidity. Nonetheless, DTI/DTT data should be interpreted cautiously.■ CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE Type of question: therapeutic; study design: randomized controlled trial; evidence: class I. Clinical trial registration no.: NCT01758211 (ClinicalTrials.gov).

Current concepts in radiologic assessment of pediatric brain tumors during treatment, part 1

Pediatric brain tumors differ from those in adults by location, phenotype and genotype. In addition, they show dissimilar imaging characteristics before and after treatment. While adult brain tumor treatment effects are primarily assessed on MRI by measuring the contrast-enhancing components in addition to abnormalities on T2-weighted and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images, these methods cannot be simply extrapolated to pediatric central nervous system tumors. A number of researchers have attempted to solve the problem of tumor assessment during treatment in pediatric neuro-oncology; specifically, the Response Assessment in Pediatric Neuro-Oncology (RAPNO) working group was recently established to deal with the distinct challenges in evaluating treatment-related changes on imaging, but no established criteria are available. In this article we review the current methods to evaluate brain tumor therapy and the numerous challenges that remain. In part 1, we examine the role of T2-weighted imaging and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery sequences, contrast enhancement, volumetrics and diffusion imaging techniques. We pay particular attention to several specific pediatric brain tumors, such as optic pathway glioma, diffuse midline glioma and medulloblastoma. Finally, we review the best means to assess leptomeningeal seeding.

Analysis of Survival Prognosis for Children with Symptomatic Optic Pathway Gliomas Who Received Surgery

OBJECTIVE

The feasibility and prognosis of surgical treatment for children with optic pathway gliomas (OPGs) is controversial. Therefore this study attempted to evaluate the effects of surgery and discuss prognostic factors related to the survival of children with symptomatic OPGs.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

One-hundred twenty-five children diagnosed with OPGs underwent surgery in the Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital from 2003-2016. In this retrospective study, their demographics, clinical characteristics, treatments, and survival outcomes were investigated and summarized.

RESULTS

Among the 125 patients, the 5-year overall survival (OS) rate and progression-free survival (PFS) rate were 84.1% and 70.6%, respectively. In the univariate analysis, patients who received postoperative radiotherapy (RT) after surgery had significantly better 5-year OS and PFS rates than patients who did not receive RT (P < 0.001 for both comparisons), patients who were 3 years old had better PFS rates than younger patients (P < 0.001), and patients with endocrinology symptoms had significantly worse PFS rates than patients with other symptoms (P = 0.049). In the multiple regression analysis, postoperative treatment with RT and tumors with a lower pathologic grade were better predictors of OS. An age older than 3 years and postoperative treatment with RT were better predictors of PFS.

CONCLUSIONS

Surgery is safe and feasible for children with large volumes of OPGs and symptoms of functional impairment and obstructive hydrocephalus. Furthermore, adjuvant RT after surgery may significantly improve OS and PFS. The pathologic grade is an independent prognostic factor for OS, and the age at diagnosis is an independent prognostic factor for PFS.

Pediatric Suprasellar Tumors

The various childhood suprasellar tumors, while pathologically distinct, present similar clinical and surgical challenges as a result of their common anatomic location. These lesions are in close proximity to or may invade the optic nerve and chiasm, pituitary gland and infundibulum, hypothalamus, and third ventricle, leading to presenting features including visual field loss, impairment in visual acuity, endocrine dysfunction, and hydrocephalus. Though many suprasellar lesions are relatively benign in pathology, treatment may be complicated by high surgical morbidity resulting from damage to the hypothalamic-pituitary axis. Here we review the most frequent pediatric lesions occurring in the suprasellar region: craniopharyngioma, chiasmatic glioma, germ cell tumor, Rathke cleft and arachnoid cysts, pituitary adenoma, and histiocytosis. This review outlines both common presenting features and differentiating aspects of these lesions. It also includes classic radiographic presentations and treatment considerations for each lesion.