The Current State of Adult Glial Tumor Patients’ Care in Kazakhstan: Challenges in Diagnosis and Patterns in Survival Outcomes

Great Hospitals of Central Asia: The Kazakhstan National Centre for Neurosurgery

BACKGROUND

This paper aimed to describe the National Centre for Neurosurgery, the only specialized hospital in the treatment of neurological diseases in Kazakhstan and the leading neurosurgical hospital in Central Asia.

METHODS

Historical data were collected from the archive materials of the National Centre for Neurosurgery.

RESULTS

The paper outlines the achievements of the Centre in providing neurosurgical care to the population over the past 15 years, commencing with its establishment in 2008. During this period, there has been a 2.3-fold increase in the number of neurosurgeons at the Centre, accompanied by a significant seven-fold rise in the number of surgeries conducted. Additionally, the Centre has hosted international conferences and educational programs in collaboration with the Asian Congress of Neurological Surgeons and the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies. Throughout the last 15 years, more than 70 treatment techniques were introduced, and subsequent technology transfer initiatives extended these methods to regions within the country.

CONCLUSIONS

The National Centre for Neurosurgery has achieved remarkable progress in delivering patient-centered neurosurgical care, rehabilitation programs, and innovative treatments, supported by state funding, benefitting patients across Central Asia.

Fibronectin Type III Domain Containing 3B as a Potential Prognostic and Therapeutic Biomarker for Glioblastoma

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a representative malignant brain tumor characterized by a dismal prognosis, with survival rates of less than 2 years and high recurrence rates. Despite surgical resection and several alternative treatments, GBM remains a refractory disease due to its aggressive invasiveness and resistance to anticancer therapy. In this report, we explore the role of fibronectin type III domain containing 3B (FNDC3B) and its potential as a prognostic and therapeutic biomarker in GBM. GBM exhibited a significantly higher cancer-to-normal ratio compared to other organs, and patients with high FNDC3B expression had a poor prognosis (p < 0.01). In vitro studies revealed that silencing FNDC3B significantly reduced the expression of Survivin, an apoptosis inhibitor, and also reduced cell migration, invasion, extracellular matrix adhesion ability, and stem cell properties in GBM cells. Furthermore, we identified that FNDC3B regulates PTEN/PI3K/Akt signaling in GBM cells using MetaCore integrated pathway bioinformatics analysis and a proteome profiler phospho-kinase array with sequential western blot analysis. Collectively, our findings suggest FNDC3B as a potential biomarker for predicting GBM patient survival and for the development of treatment strategies for GBM.