Classification of Adverse Events Following Surgery in Patients With Diffuse Lower-Grade Gliomas

High costs, low quality of life, reduced survival, and room for improving treatment: an analysis of burden and unmet needs in glioma

Gliomas are a group of heterogeneous tumors that account for substantial morbidity, mortality, and costs to patients and healthcare systems globally. Survival varies considerably by grade, histology, biomarkers, and genetic alterations such as IDH mutations and MGMT promoter methylation, and treatment, but is poor for some grades and histologies, with many patients with glioblastoma surviving less than a year from diagnosis. The present review provides an introduction to glioma, including its classification, epidemiology, economic and humanistic burden, as well as treatment options. Another focus is on treatment recommendations for IDH-mutant astrocytoma, IDH-mutant oligodendroglioma, and glioblastoma, which were synthesized from recent guidelines. While recommendations are nuanced and reflect the complexity of the disease, maximum safe resection is typically the first step in treatment, followed by radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy using temozolomide or procarbazine, lomustine, and vincristine. Immunotherapies and targeted therapies currently have only a limited role due to disappointing clinical trial results, including in recurrent glioblastoma, for which the nitrosourea lomustine remains the de facto standard of care. The lack of treatment options is compounded by frequently suboptimal clinical practice, in which patients do not receive adequate therapy after resection, including delayed, shortened, or discontinued radiotherapy and chemotherapy courses due to treatment side effects. These unmet needs will require significant efforts to address, including a continued search for novel treatment options, increased awareness of clinical guidelines, improved toxicity management for chemotherapy, and the generation of additional and more robust clinical and health economic evidence.

Optimizing patient outcome in intracranial tumor surgery: a detailed prospective study of adverse events and mortality reduction strategies in neurosurgery

INTRODUCTION

Brain tumor surgery represents a critical and high-risk area within the field of neurosurgery. Our study aims to offer a comprehensive analysis of adverse events (AEs) from a prospectively maintained database at a leading neurosurgical tertiary center, with a specific focus on different types of tumor entities.

METHODS

From January 2022 to September 2023, our study focused on adult patients, who underwent surgery for intracranial tumors. Each patient in this demographic was thoroughly assessed for adverse events (AEs) by their attending physicians at discharge. An AE was defined as any event occurring within the first 30 days post-surgery.

RESULTS

A total of 1173 patients with an average age of 57.4 ± 15.3 years underwent surgical procedures. The majority of these surgeries were elective, accounting for 93.4% (1095 out of 1173), while emergency surgeries constituted 13.9% (163 out of 1173). The incidence of surgery-related AEs was relatively low at 12.7%. The most common surgical indications were meningioma and glioma pathologies, representing 31.1% and 28.2% of cases, respectively. Dural leaks occurred in 1.5% of the cases. Postoperative hemorrhage was a significant complication, especially among glioma patients, with ten experiencing postoperative hemorrhage and eight requiring revision surgery. The overall mortality rate stood at 0.8%, corresponding to five patient deaths. Causes of death included massive postoperative bleeding in one patient, pulmonary embolism in two patients, and tumor progression in two others.

CONCLUSIONS

Surgical interventions for intracranial neoplasms are inherently associated with a significant risk of adverse events. However, our study's findings reveal a notably low mortality rate within our patient cohort. This suggests that thorough documentation of AEs, coupled with proactive intervention strategies in neurosurgical practices, can substantially enhance patient outcomes.

Significant perioperative parameters affecting postoperative complications within 30 days following craniotomy for primary malignant brain tumors

BACKGROUND

The occurrence of postoperative complications within 30 days (PC1M) of a craniotomy for the removal of a primary malignant brain tumor has been associated with a poor prognosis. However, it is still unclear to early predict the occurrence of PC1M. This study aimed to identify the potential perioperative predictors of PC1M from its preoperative, intraoperative, and 24-h postoperative parameters.

METHODS

Patients who had undergone craniotomy for primary malignant brain tumor (World Health Organization grades III and IV) from January 2011 to December 2020 were enrolled from a databank of Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan. The patients were classified into PC1M and nonPC1M groups. PC1M was defined according to the classification by Landriel et al. as any deviation from an uneventful 30-day postoperative course. In both groups, data regarding the baseline characteristics and perioperative parameters of the patients, including a new marker-kinetic estimated glomerular filtration rate, were collected. Logistic regression was used to analyze the predictability of the perioperative parameters.

RESULTS

The PC1M group included 41 of 95 patients. An American Society of Anesthesiologists score of > 2 (aOR, 3.17; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.19-8.45; p = 0.021), longer anesthesia duration (aOR, 1.16; 95% CI, 0.69-0.88; p < 0.001), 24-h postoperative change in hematocrit by >  - 4.8% (aOR, 3.45; 95% CI, 1.22-9.73; p = 0.0019), and 24-h postoperative change in kinetic estimated glomerular filtration rate of < 0 mL/min (aOR, 3.99; 95% CI, 1.52-10.53; p = 0.005) were identified as independent risk factors for PC1M via stepwise logistic regression analysis. When stratified according to the age of ≥ 65 years (OR, 11.55; 95% CI, 1.30-102.79; p = 0.028), the reduction of kinetic estimated glomerular filtration rate was more robustly associated with a higher risk of PC1M.

CONCLUSIONS

Four parameters were demonstrated to significantly influence the risk of PC1M in patients undergoing primary malignant brain tumor removal. Measuring and verifying these markers, especially kinetic estimated glomerular filtration rate, would help early recognition of PC1M risk in clinical care.

Cranial meningioma with bone involvement: surgical strategies and clinical considerations

BACKGROUND

Intracranial meningioma with bone involvement and primary intraosseous meningioma is uncommon. There is currently no consensus for optimal management. This study aimed to describe the management strategy and outcomes for a 10-year illustrative cohort, and propose an algorithm to aid clinicians in selecting cranioplasty material in such patients.

METHODS

A single-centre, retrospective cohort study (January 2010-August 2021). All adult patients requiring cranial reconstruction due to meningioma with bone involvement or primary intraosseous meningioma were included. Baseline patient and meningioma characteristics, surgical strategy, and surgical morbidity were examined. Descriptive statistics were performed using SPSS v24.0. Data visualisation was performed using R v4.1.0.

RESULTS

Thirty-three patients were identified (mean age 56 years; SD 15) There were 19 females. Twenty-nine patients had secondary bone involvement (88%). Four had primary intraosseous meningioma (12%). Nineteen had gross total resection (GTR; 58%). Thirty had primary 'on-table' cranioplasty (91%). Cranioplasty materials included pre-fabricated polymethyl methacrylate (pPMMA) (n = 12; 36%), titanium mesh (n = 10; 30%), hand-moulded polymethyl methacrylate cement (hPMMA) (n = 4; 12%), pre-fabricated titanium plate (n = 4; 12%), hydroxyapatite (n = 2; 6%), and a single case combining titanium mesh with hPMMA cement (n = 1; 3%). Five patients required reoperation for a postoperative complication (15%).

CONCLUSION

Meningioma with bone involvement and primary intraosseous meningioma often requires cranial reconstruction, but this may not be evident prior to surgical resection. Our experience demonstrates that a wide variety of materials have been used successfully, but that pre-fabricated materials may be associated with fewer postoperative complications. Further research within this population is warranted to identify the most appropriate operative strategy.