Temporal Glioblastoma Research Articles

NIMG-80. IMPACT OF KETOGENIC DIET ON MOLECULAR METABOLIC IMAGING WITH [18F]FDG AND [18F]DASA-23 POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY IN A PATIENT WITH GLIOBLASTOMA

Abstract The standard-of-care for neuroimaging in patients with glioblastoma is contrast-enhanced MRI, which does not provide tumor metabolism information. Although [18F]FDG PET is used to image tumor metabolism in many solid organ cancers, it has limited benefit in atients with brain tumors due to the high level of glucose uptake in normal brain cells. [18F]DASA-23 is a novel PET radiotracer that assesses the levels of pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2), a protein highly expressed in cancer cells, which undergo aberrant glycolysis. Despite [18F]DASA-23 having a higher tumor-to-background ratio (TBR) of standardized uptake values (SUVs) in the brain compared to [18F]FDG, both may be susceptible to altered carbohydrate metabolism in the setting of a ketogenic diet (KD). We report the case of a patient with glioblastoma on a KD, whose [18F]FDG and [18F]DASA-23 PET brain scans were limited in identifying disease progression (PD). Background was defined as the white matter contralateral to the tumor, at the level of the centrum semiovale, for TBR of SUVmax. A 39-year-old man was diagnosed with right temporal glioblastoma after previous diagnoses of grade 2 gliofibrillary oligodendroglioma (age 20) and grade 3 anaplastic oligodendroglioma (age 22). He began a KD after the glioblastoma diagnosis. 21 months later, TBR on [18F]DASA-23 PET was 1.38. One month later, surveillance brain MRI showed PD. Ten days later, TBR on [18F]FDG PET was 1.03. The patient died 15 months later. Despite MRI-based PD, the TBR of each radiotracer was not markedly elevated, although the [18F]DASA-23 TBR 1-month pre-PD was 34% greater than the [18F]FDG PET TBR 10-days post-PD. This may suggest a limitation of metabolic imaging by PET in the setting of a KD, and provide an opportunity to develop novel PET radiotracers that are not susceptible to the patient’s diet.

Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis detected using diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging during maintenance temozolomide chemotherapy in a patient with glioblastoma: illustrative case.

Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) sometimes occurs in the background of hypercoagulopathic disorders, including malignancy, chemotherapy, etc. Glioblastoma (GBM) is a malignancy found in the central nervous system, and reports on cases of GBM complicated by CVST are sparse. The authors herein report a case of GBM complicated by CVST during maintenance temozolomide (TMZ) chemotherapy and describe the utility of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the detection of CVST. A 65-year-old male was treated for left temporal GBM. After surgical removal of the lesion, the patient was treated with chemoradiation therapy, which included 60 Gy local radiation with concomitant TMZ chemotherapy. He was subsequently received TMZ maintenance therapy. Routine MRI performed 7 months after surgery revealed no evidence of tumor recurrence. However, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) revealed a high-intensity signal at the posterior portion of the superior sagittal sinus, indicating the presence of a thrombus. In addition to the preexisting symptoms, the patient experienced some disorientation. Angiography revealed an obstruction in the superior sagittal sinus, right transverse sinus, right sigmoid sinus, and straight sinus. His symptoms improved with endovascular and anticoagulant therapy. Performing DWI during routine follow-up can help in the early diagnosis of CVST in patients with malignant gliomas.

Challenges in the diagnosis of leptomeningeal dissemination of glioblastoma in a patient with fever and xanthochromic CSF: a case report.

Leptomeningeal spread with carcinomatous meningitis is a severe complication of glioblastoma, with a poor prognosis. Diagnosis is challenging, as the sensitivity of classic diagnostic investigations remains low for detecting cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tumor spread and exclusion of infectious causes is mandatory, especially if unusual clinical findings are present. A 71-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital for recurrent episodes of high fever and xanthochromic meningitis, with subacute onset. Her past medical history was significant for a left temporal glioblastoma, treated with surgical resection and adjuvant chemo- and radiotherapy, with associated systemic immunosuppression secondary to chemotherapy. An extensive workup especially with molecular microbiology testing for exclusion of infectious causes was performed. CSF was analyzed for typical bacterial and viral causes, but also pathogens associated with immunosuppression, such as Listeria monocytogenes and Cryptococcus neoformans. A therapeutic trial of standard antituberculous drugs with repeated lumbar punctures were needed in order to exclude Mycobacterium tuberculosis and to confirm the diagnosis of carcinomatous meningitis by cytopathological examination of the CSF. The case describes an unusual clinical presentation of a patient with glioblastoma associated leptomeningeal dissemination, as high fever and xanthochromic CSF could raise important diagnostic and therapeutic challenges in the clinical practice. The diagnosis of carcinomatous meningitis requires an extensive workup for exclusion of infectious causes which is important for urgent oncologic treatment.

A consensus definition of supratotal resection for anatomically distinct primary glioblastoma: an AANS/CNS Section on Tumors survey of neurosurgical oncologists.

Supratotal resection (SpTR) of glioblastoma may be associated with improved survival, but published results have varied in part fromlack of consensus on the definition and appropriate use of SpTR. A previous small survey of neurosurgical oncologists with expertise performing SpTR found resection 1-2cm beyond contrast enhancement was an acceptable definition and glioblastoma involving the right frontal and bilateral anterior temporal lobes were considered most amenable to SpTR. The general neurosurgical oncology community has not yet confirmed the practicality of this definition. Seventy-six neurosurgical oncology members of the AANS/CNS Tumor Section were surveyed, representing 34.0% of the 223 members who were administered the survey. Participants were presented with 11 definitions of SpTR and rated each definition's appropriateness. Participants additionally reviewed magnetic resonance imaging for 10 anatomically distinct glioblastomas and assessed the tumor location'seloquence, perceived equipoise of enrolling patients in a randomized trial comparing gross total to SpTR, and their personal treatment plans. Most neurosurgeons surveyed agree that gross total plus resection of some non-contrast enhancement (n = 57, 80.3%) or resection 1-2cm beyond contrast enhancement (n = 52, 73.2%) are appropriate definitions for SpTR. Cases were divided into three anatomically distinct groups by perceived equipoise between gross total and SpTR. The best clinical trial candidates were thought to be right anterior temporal (n = 58, 76.3%) and right frontal (n = 55, 73.3%) glioblastomas. Support exists among neurosurgical oncologists with varying familiarity performing SpTR to adopt the proposed consensus definition of SpTR of glioblastoma and to potentially investigate the utility of SpTR to treat right anterior temporal and right frontal glioblastomas in a clinical trial. A smaller proportion of general neurosurgical oncologists than SpTR experts would personally treat a left anterior temporal glioblastoma with SpTR.

Seizure outcome in temporal glioblastoma surgery: lobectomy as a supratotal resection regime outclasses conventional gross-total resection

IntroductionThe postoperative seizure freedom represents an important secondary outcome measure in glioblastoma surgery. Recently, supra-total glioblastoma resection in terms of anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL) has gained growing attention with regard to superior long-term disease control for temporal-located glioblastoma compared to conventional gross-total resections (GTR). However, the impact of ATL on seizure outcome in these patients is unknown. We therefore analyzed ATL and GTR as differing extents of resection in regard of postoperative seizure control in patients with temporal glioblastoma and preoperative symptomatic seizures.MethodsBetween 2012 and 2018, 33 patients with preoperative seizures underwent GTR or ATL for temporal glioblastoma at the authors’ institution. Seizure outcome was assessed postoperatively and 6 months after tumor resection according to the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) classification and stratified into favorable (ILAE class 1) versus unfavorable (ILAE class 2–6).ResultsOverall, 23 out of 33 patients (70%) with preoperative seizures achieved favorable seizure outcome following resection of temporal located glioblastoma. For the ATL group, postoperative seizure freedom was present in 13 out of 13 patients (100%). In comparison, respective rates for the GTR group were 10 out of 20 patients (50%) (p = 0.002; OR 27; 95% CI 1.4–515.9).ConclusionsATL in terms of a supra-total resection strategy was associated with superior favorable seizure outcome following temporal glioblastoma resection compared to GTR. Regarding above mentioned survival benefit following ATL compared to GTR, ATL as an aggressive supra-total resection regime might constitute the surgical modality of choice for temporal-located glioblastoma.

Safety metric profiling in surgery for temporal glioblastoma: lobectomy as a supra-total resection regime preserves perioperative standard quality rates

IntroductionSupra-total resection in terms of anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL) has gained growing attention with regard to superior long-term disease control for temporal-located glioblastoma. However, aggressive onco-surgical approaches—geared beyond conventional gross total resections (GTR)—may be associated with peri- and postoperative unfavorable events which significantly worsen initial favorable postoperative outcome. In the current study we analyzed our institutional database with regard to patient safety indicators (PSIs), hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) and specific cranial surgery-related complications (CSC) as high standard quality metric profiles in patients that had undergone surgery for temporal glioblastoma.MethodsBetween 2012 and 2018, 61 patients with temporal glioblastoma underwent GTR or temporal lobectomy at the authors’ institution. Both groups of differing resection modalities were analyzed with regard to the incidence of PSIs, HACs and CSCs.ResultsOverall, we found 6 PSI and 2 HAC events. Postoperative hemorrhage (3 out of 61 patients; 5%) and catheter-associated urinary tract infection (2 out 61 patients; 3%) were identified as the most frequent PSIs and HACs. PSIs were present in 1 out of 41 patients (5%) for the temporal GTR and 2 out of 20 patients for the lobectomy group (p = 1.0). Respective rates for PSIs were 5 of 41 (12%) and 1 of 20 (5%) (p = 0.7). Further, CSCs did not yield significant differences between these two resection modalities (p = 1.0).ConclusionWith regard to ATL and GTR as differing onco-surgical approaches these data suggest ATL in terms of an aggressive supra-total resection strategy to preserve perioperative standard safety metric profiles.

Solitary vertebral metastatic glioblastoma in the absence of primary brain tumor relapse: a case report and literature review

BackgroundMetastatic glioblastoma presenting as a solitary osteolytic cervical vertebral mass without primary brain tumor relapse is extremely rare with only 1 reported case in the literature. Because of its rarity, it can be easily overlooked and misdiagnosed, posing a diagnostic dilemma.Case presentationA 51-year-old man with right temporal glioblastoma was initially treated by tumor resection, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Eighteen months after surgery, he was readmitted with complaints of neck pain for 2 weeks. Follow-up magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) revealed a solitary FDG-avid osteolytic lesion in the 4th cervical vertebral body without other abnormal FDG-uptake in the body and in the absence of local recurrence at the resection cavity. Because of the sudden worsening situation and intractable neck pain, the patient underwent tumor resection. Postoperatively, the pain was obviously reduced and the situation was improved. Interestingly, the immunohistochemical findings of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) indicated the characteristic of metastatic glioblastoma, despite that the histopathological findings of Hematoxylin & Eosin (H&E) staining was suspicious of osteoclastoma. According to the clinical history, imaging findings, pathological and immunohistochemical results, a final diagnosis of solitary vertebral metastasis from glioblastoma without central nervous system (CNS) relapse was confirmed. Then, the patient received radiotherapy on spine and adjuvant chemotherapy with temozolomide. However, he died suddenly 2 months after the tumor resection, nearly 21 months after the initial diagnosis.ConclusionWe emphasize that metastatic glioblastoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a solitary FDG-avid osteolytic vertebral mass on PET/CT. And the diagnosis of extracranial metastasis (ECM) from glioblastoma can be achieved through clinical history, imaging findings, pathological examination, and immunohistochemical staining with GFAP.

Resting-State Functional Connectome in Patients with Brain Tumors Before and After Surgical Resection

High-grade glioma surgery has evolved around the principal belief that a safe maximal tumor resection improves symptoms, quality of life, and survival. Mapping brain function has been recently improved by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rest-fMRI), a novel imaging technique that explores networks connectivity at "rest." This prospective study analyzed 10 patients with high-grade glioma in whom rest-fMRI connectivity was assessed both in single-subject and in group analysis before and after surgery. Seed-based functional connectivity analysis was performed with CONN toolbox. Network identification focused on 8 major functional connectivity networks. A voxel-wise region of interest (ROI) to ROI correlation map to assess functional connectivity throughout the whole brain was computed from a priori seeds ROI in specific resting-state networks before and after surgical resection in each patient. Reliable topography of all 8 resting-state networks was successfully identified in each participant before surgical resection. Single-subject functional connectivity analysis showed functional disconnection for dorsal attention and salience networks, whereas the language network demonstrated functional connection either in the case of left temporal glioblastoma. Functional connectivity in group analysis showed wide variations of functional connectivity in the default mode, salience, and sensorimotor networks. However, salience and language networks, salience and default mode networks, and salience and sensorimotor networks showed a significant correlation (P uncorrected <0.0025; P false discovery rate <0.077) in comparison before and after surgery confirming non-disconnection of these networks. Resting-state fMRI can reliably detect common functional connectivity networks in patients with glioma and has the potential to anticipate network alterations after surgical resection.

East meets West for the treatment of glioma: A discussion of real-world cases

Background and Aim: The standard of care for patients with gliomas should follow established guidelines. In real-world management, however, the management sometimes deviates from these guidelines. We organized a discussion of real-world clinical cases and summarized different considerations from Chinese and European specialists.Case Presentation: A multidisciplinary team comprising experts from Europe and China discussed two patients with glioma treated at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center and Liaoning Cancer Hospital and Institute, China. Patient 1 was a 43-year-old man with a recurrent oligodendroglioma in the left frontal lobe diagnosed based on histology alone. He had undergone a biopsy and was diagnosed with an oligodendroglioma 3 years previously. He underwent chemoradiotherapy followed by 12 cycles of chemotherapy with temozolomide (TMZ), and complete remission was achieved. However, the tumor recurred within a short period of time and was resected by a second surgery. The pathologic diagnosis of the recurrent tumor was a glioblastoma because 1p/19q was intact when detected by sequencing. Pathologic consultation from another hospital still considered an anaplastic oligodendroglioma based on the positive result of 1p19q loss of heterozygosity (LOH) determined by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Patient 2 was a 50-year-old man with a left temporal glioblastoma. He underwent tumor resection but no radiotherapy. After seven cycles of TMZ (5/28-day regimen), his symptoms deteriorated, and his treatment was changed to a TMZ dose-dense regimen (7 days on/7 days off) and bevacizumab (7.5 mg/kg every 2 weeks), plus tumor-treating field therapy. Consultation Results: The pathological diagnosis based on biopsy for Patient 1 was an oligodendroglioma (World Health Organization Grade II), whereas the result of the second surgical sample was glioblastoma or anaplastic oligodendroglioma (questionable). Although the accuracy of fluorescence in situ hybridization for the detection of 1p/19q LOH requires improvement, 1p/19q LOH is typically not reconstituted in oligodendroglioma. More likely, it was due to sampling; a positive observation field may be missed with consequent negative results, and both oligodendroglioma (with 1p/19q co-deletion and isocitrate dehydrogenase mutation) and astrocytoma (without 1p/19q co-deletion) may exist. With respect to further treatment for cases such as Patient 1, both Chinese and European experts agree that procarbazine + lomustine chemotherapy is appropriate, while re-irradiation is suggested only if the tumor recurs outside the original radiotherapy field or within the radiotherapy field in the future. Considering the medical history, the rapid tumor regrowth without postoperative radiotherapy in Patient 2 was not surprising. After application of a rescue treatment regimen, the general condition of the patient improved, which may have resulted from the bevacizumab. A consensus was reached between the Chinese and European experts regarding subsequent treatment of Patient 2. Continuation of TMZ and bevacizumab was suggested until further deterioration. Whether tumor-treating field therapy should play a role in this patient could not be evaluated. However, some other molecular targeted agents (e.g. vascular endothelial growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as regorafenib or apatinib) after bevacizumab failure, the effectiveness of these drugs remains unclear. Conclusion: In clinical practice, although we should follow established guidelines, the final treatment regimen requires informed consent from the patient. Thus, some real-world cases may deviate from the established guidelines. When patients reach end-stage disease with a marked decrease in their performance status and no standard treatment options, active antitumor treatment might be more likely to be attempted in China, while symptomatic treatment is more frequently performed in Europe. Although treatment philosophies for patients with glioma are slightly different between Eastern and Western medical experts, any treatment strategies should satisfy these patients.

1643 Colonic Malakoplakia: An Exquisitely Rare Cause of Lower GI Bleeding

INTRODUCTION: Malakoplakia is a rare chronic granulomatous disease that may affect many organs. The gastrointestinal tract is the second most common site of involvement (after the urinary tract). The most common sites of colonic involvement are the rectum, sigmoid, and right colon, in descending order of frequency. The pathogenesis of malakoplakia is unknown. The treatment of malakoplakia ranges from antibiotic therapy to surgical resection. Here we describe a case of a 33-year-old man who presented with hematochezia and was noted to have malakoplakia on rectal mass biopsy during colonoscopy. CASE DESCRIPTION/METHODS: A 33-year-old man presented to our clinic due recurrent episodes of painless hematochezia in the setting of warfarin for recent lower extremity deep venous thrombosis. He is a resident of a nursing home due to a complex neurosurgical history which includes resection of a right temporal glioblastoma multiforme tumor followed by chemo and radiation therapy. He also had subsequent craniotomy and ventriculo-peritoneal shunt placement and used oral dexamethasone for recurrent episodes of cerebral edema related to residual brain tumor. Despite stopping warfarin he continued to have rectal bleeding. Colonoscopy showed a frond-like/villous, fungating and polypoid non-obstructing circumferential mass in the rectum. Biopsies showed malakoplakia. After multidisciplinary discussions, a decision was made to continue dexamethasone to minimize cerebral edema and bowel resection was declined by patient’s parents. We opted to use a prolonged course of Ciprofloxacin, however, the patient developed severe urosepsis and unfortunately died. DISCUSSION: First reported by Michaelis and Gutmann in 1902, malakoplakia is derived from the Greek “malakos” (soft) and “plakos” (plaque) and reflects its usual endoscopic appearance as a friable, yellow mucosal lesion. Coliform bacteria in macrophage cytoplasm (von Hansemann histiocytes), and laminated intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies (Michaelis-Gutmann bodies) are characteristic. A decrease in macrophage cyclic GMP activity with resultant impaired bactericidal activity is hypothesized to be the cause of malakoplakia. Macrophage abnormalities and clinical symptoms resolve after discontinuation of glucocorticoids. Antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin have been successful treatments in few case reports. Unfortunately our patient did not have the opportunity to utilize any of these antibiotics prior to his passing.

Abstract 2528: Mapping tumoral and immune heterogeneity in PD-1 responsive glioblastoma

Abstract Clonal evolution and the immune microenvironment in glioblastoma (GBM) ultimately determine the potential benefit of checkpoint inhibition. We present a case study of a 67- year-old patient who underwent a resection of a large right temporal GBM. The patient received standard-of-care treatment consisting of tumor resection, radiation therapy and concurrent temozolomide. Her tumor recurred as a gliosarcoma after 2 cycles of adjuvant Temozolomide. Subsequently, she received 26 cycles of a PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor and 20 cycles of bevacizumab, a VEGF-A inhibitor. She survived 25 months after diagnosis including six after immunotherapy and VEGF-A blockade was discontinued. We integrated RNA-seq and whole exome sequencing data from the primary tumor and several recurrent biopsies to characterize the genomic and molecular landscape within the context of clonal evolution. Specifically, we surveyed tumor-immune interactions by computing the mutational and neo-epitope tumoral burden, along with the magnitude and clonality of infiltrating lymphocytes using VDJ-sequencing. Furthermore, we intersected genomic instability measures with the regional gene expression profiles among the sectors. Finally, we integrated TCGA-GBM RNA-seq data to examine the expression of our patient sectors among the spectrum of known GBM variation. We found significant regional heterogeneity in the predicted neoantigen and infiltrating lymphocyte landscape, with a pronounced shift towards lower predicted immunogenicity and lower immune infiltration in all recurrent biopsies. We also observed profound large-scale immune variance among the regional sectors when examined in the context of TCGA. Overall, this case study quantifies intra-tumoral clonal and immune heterogeneity with multiregional glioblastoma omics data, providing reasonable priors for further assessing the efficacy of checkpoint inhibition for GBM. Citation Format: Paula Restrepo, Raymund Yong, Ilaria Laface, Nadejda Tsankova, Sacha Gnjatic, Adilia Hormigo, Bojan Losic. Mapping tumoral and immune heterogeneity in PD-1 responsive glioblastoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2528.

Temporal Glioblastoma Mimicking Basal Ganglia Invasion: Distinguishing Removable and Unremovable Tumors

Maximal safe resection prolongs the survival of patients with glioblastoma (GB). However, whether total resection of the enhanced lesion is pursued or abandoned depends on preoperative judgments based on the findings of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Anatomically, medial temporal tumor tends to invade toward the temporal stem, insula, and basal ganglia, representing tumor with high surgical risk. In the present study, we describe the key radiologic features of medial temporal GB to achieve extent of resection. We reviewed all GB cases located in the temporal lobe (tGB) treated between April 2013 and March 2018 at Kitasato University Hospital. On the basis of MRI, tGB was simply classified into 3 groups: medial tGB and nonmedial tGB, and medial tGB was further subdivided into invading type and mimicking type. We focused on the resectability of medial tGB. Twenty-seven patients with tGB were identified. Twenty were included in the nonmedial tGB, and 7 were in the medial tGB. All medial tGB seemed to invade into the basal ganglia and/or the lenticulostriate arteries, but detailed examination revealed 2 types of tumor, invading type (3 cases) and mimicking type (4 cases). The invading type had true involvement of the basal ganglia and/or lenticulostriate arteries, whereas the mimicking type had no involvement of these structures. This new classification is highly effective, as the former is unresectable, but the latter is totally resectable. Medial tGB is a challenging tumor for maximal safe resection, so our classification will help to identify cases of removable medial tGB.

A case of recurrent gliosarcoma mimicking subdural hematoma

Abstract The authors present the case of a patient who after undergoing craniotomy for glioblastoma resection was found to have gliosarcoma recurrence in the subdural space without intraparenchymal recurrence. A 74-year old man originally presented with the first seizure of his life and was found to have a right temporal glioblastoma multiforme. He underwent craniotomy and adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Five months later, he presented with what was to be presumed to be a right subdural hematoma found on surveillance imaging. After expanding on repeat imaging, the patient was electively taken for burr hole evacuation, however intraoperatively thickened membranes were encountered leading to craniotomy and resection of lesion with pathology consistent with gliosarcoma. What we describe is novel because not only was there rare subdural spread of previously resected glioblastoma observed, but also transformation to the more aggressive tumor of gliosarcoma. Thus, we add to the body of literature and evidence to the clinical consideration of glioma as a rare cause of non-traumatic subdural collection. Specifically in a population of patients who have already undergone glioma resections, work up of subdural collections should include contrasted MRI beyond CT. The treatment paradigm does not change in this presentation of glioma recurrence. Surgical decompression and resection to alleviate brain compression, followed by adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation.

Letter: Combining 5-Aminolevulinic Acid Fluorescence and Intraoperative Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Glioblastoma Surgery: A Histology-Based Evaluation.

Letter: Combining 5-Aminolevulinic Acid Fluorescence and Intraoperative Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Glioblastoma Surgery: A Histology-Based Evaluation.

Subcutaneous Dissemination in Highly Aggressive Intracranial Glioblastoma: Case Report and Literature Review

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a highly invasive and incurable primary central nervous system (CNS) tumor. Despite its aggressive behavior, extracranial metastases are rare, with an estimated incidence of less than 2%. In our literature review, we found only 21 reported cases of skin and soft tissue dissemination. We report a case of an early (two and a half months) postoperative skin and muscle flap-associated dissemination of a temporal glioblastoma. The particular aspect of this case, besides its rarity, is that the clinical presentation, the image reports and even the surgical findings were always in favor of a postoperative subdural empyema and epicranial abscesses. The diagnosis of soft tissue dissemination was only possible after negative microbiological cultures and histopathological confirmation of muscle and skin invasion by the tumor. This case illustrates the rare but potential risk of myocutaneous flap tumor dissemination through the durotomy/craniotomy site that can mimic a much more common, post-surgical infection.

Predicting patterns of failure in temporal lobe glioblastoma multiforme: Implications for novel radiation therapy target volume protocols

Predicting patterns of failure in temporal lobe glioblastoma multiforme: Implications for novel radiation therapy target volume protocols

Metastatic Glioblastoma: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive primary glial tumor, has a median survival time of approximately 3 months without medical treatment. Surgical resection, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy are the main methods of treatment and have been shown to increase life expectancy 1 to 2 years. The tumor has an infiltrative growth pattern that distorts the normal anatomy and can extend to distant parts of the brain along white matter tracts. While glioblastoma commonly infiltrates surrounding brain tissue and intracranial metastases to the meninges and spinal cord are frequently reported, extra-cranial metastases are extremely rare. This is most probably due to the lack of lymphatic vessels in the brain and inability of the malignant cells to invade blood vessels. We present a case of a 56- year-old female with a history of right temporal glioblastoma, who was found to have biopsy proven metastases to the lung. The patient presented for a chest x-ray, as part of a requirement for a clinical trial, and was found to have bilateral lung nodules; a subsequent chest computed tomography (CT) scan showed numerous pulmonary nodules and low density lesions in the liver. The patient underwent right thoracoscopic wedge resection. Frozen section and permanent sections were diagnostic of metastatic glioblastoma.

P09.03 * USE OF METHYLPREDNISOLONE IN LATE EFFECTS OF RADIOTHERAPY

INTRODUCTION: Radiation therapy to the brain can cause problems months or years after treatment ends. Side effects can include memory loss, movement disorders, urinary incontinence, trouble thinking, or personality changes. There is no current treatment for this late complication. and it has been proved bevacizumab, steroids, hyperbaric O2 with different results. We present three cases in which the use of methylprednisolone, as in multiple sclerosis relapses, has had a very good response in terms of clinical and radiological evaluation. Case 1: 43 year-old-woman with recurrent vestibular schwannoma received radiation therapy on the tumour site after the second surgery. Six months later she consulted for diplopia, ataxia and worsening of her facial palsy since a few days ago. The neurological exam showed a right internuclear ophtalmoplegia, vertical nistagmus with upward gaze, right limbs dysmetria and ataxia. The MRI showed high-signal intensity lesions with contrast enhancement in the radiation field (bulbopontine region, right pons and cerebellar peduncle). The diagnosis was subacute rhombencephalitis. We started five days of 1 gr of methylprednisolone. The symptomatology and the MRI changes resolved completely one month after therapy. Case 2: A 60 year-old-man with temporal glioblastoma diagnosed in 2010. He was treated with Stupp regimen followed by temozolomide. Six months later the patient was getting worse of his neurological symptons with abulia and apathy. A MRI showed worsening in brain edema with an increase in contrast enhancement, with low relative cerebral blood volume. The diagnosis was late pseudoprogression and he received a cycle of 250 mg of methylprednisolone during five days with resolution of the clinical symptoms and significant improvement in MRI brain edema. Case 3: A 33 year-old-woman diagnosed in 1993 of temporal astrocytoma grade III. It was resected and afterwards radiotherapy. In 2012 started with instability and dizziness. Examination showed slight lateropulsion and on MRI appeared a new lesion that enhanced after contrast administration at right cerebellar peduncle. It was interpreted as radionecrosis and a cycle of 1 gr of methyl-prednisolone IV per day for five days was administered. Four weeks after the the clinical picture and image were resolved. DISCUSSION: Demyelination is one of the pathological features of late effects of radiotherapy. Regarding this fact we treated all these patients as a relapsing multiple sclerosis episode with an scheme of intravenous megadosis of methyilprednisolone for five days. We obtained complete clinical and radiological response with no adverse events due to steroids. CONCLUSION: Methylprednisolone must be considered one treatment option in patients who present with clinical and or radiological suspicion of inflammatory late effects of radiotherapy. Further studies are necessary to validate this situation.

Recurrent glioblastoma multiforme presents as a mirror image in the contralateral temporal lobe

A 44-year-old woman with history of left temporal glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) presented with a generalized seizure and altered mental status. She had undergone surgical resection for the left tem...

Herpes Simplex Virus 2 Encephalitis in Adults

an HSV-1 limbic encephalitis. One patient (case 3) had neurosurgical resection of a right temporal glioblastoma 10 days before the onset of encephalitic illness. By 16 days after surgery, magnetic resonance imaging showed bilateral asymmetric temporal, insular, and right cingulate gyrus abnormal fluid-attenuated inversion recovery signal, consistent with HSV encephalitis,despitetreatment.Asecond patient (case 4) had encephalitis withabnormal fluid-attenuatedinversionrecoverysignalintheleftanterior and medial temporal, insular, and inferofrontalareasonMRI,moretypical of HSV-1 encephalitis. The remaining 3 patients had generalized encephalitis with altered mental status, no focal neurologic findings, and normal or nonspecific neuroimaging findings. Despite acyclovir treatment, outcomes were poor. Our case series highlights the following key points: (1) HSV-2 encephalitis occurs in elderly, immunocompromised patients, (2) the presentation may be clinically indistinguishable from HSV-1 encephalitis in adults, and (3) the prognosis of immunocompromised adults with HSV-2 encephalitis may be unfavorable, even when antiviral therapy is administered. In 1993 in Sweden, Aurelius et al 1