Neuro-Oncology

Neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) comprise a heterogenous group of malignancies with diverse clinical behaviour determined by tumour characteristics such as grade, differentiation and primary tumour origin.1 While neuroendocrine carcinomas are poorly differentiated aggressive malignancies, well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) tend to be slow growing.2 Despite this, more than 50% of patients with NETs are diagnosed with metastatic disease. […]

Case Presentation A 64-year-old male presented with a 1-month history of progressively worsening headaches. He had no other central neurological symptoms, including ocular symptoms, and examination of the central and peripheral nervous system was normal. Physical examination did not reveal lymphadenopathy or organomegaly and was normal for all systems examined. No constitutional symptoms such as […]

Glioblastoma Multiforme Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most malignant of the primary brain cancers with only about 12 % of patients surviving beyond 36 months (longterm survivors).1–4 Most GBMs are heterogeneous in cellular composition consisting of tumor stem cells, malignantly transformed mesenchymal cells, and host stromal cells; hence, the name ‘glioblastoma multiforme.’5–11 Primary GBM appears […]

Intraspinal (leptomeningeal or intramedullary) metastases from primary intracranial gliomas have been well documented in several clinical and pathological series.1–5 Post-mortem and cytological incidence of meningeal and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dissemination of up to 40 % has been demonstrated in these studies. Symptomatic intraspinal metastases in patients with primary intracerebral gliomas occur rarely however – roughly […]

The purpose of this article is to review the current treatment options for patients with glioblastoma (GBM). The current standard of care involves maximal safe surgical resection followed by concurrent chemotherapy with radiation followed by adjuvant chemotherapy. Although level 1 evidence supports the use of this treatment, GBM remains incurable and most patients will succumb […]

The treatment of patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is considered to be a palliative venture with no hope of cure. Traditionally, patients are treated with maximal surgical resection based on the premise that, although surgery is not a curative procedure, a major resection leads to longer survival and better quality of life.1 Radiotherapy increases the […]

Anaplastic astrocytomas, oligoastrocytomas and oligodendrogliomas (World Health Organization (WHO) grade III) and glioblastomas (WHO grade IV) are collectively referred to as malignant gliomas, whereas WHO grade I and II gliomas are designated low-grade gliomas.1 For decades, neurosurgical resection – whenever possible – and post-operative radiotherapy have been the cornerstones of treatment for malignant gliomas. Most […]

New contrast-enhancing lesions discovered on routine follow-up brain imaging at or near the site of previously treated primary or metastatic brain tumours represent a challenge for radiologists and oncologists, as radiation-induced injuries may have an appearance that is virtually indistinguishable from that of recurrent disease. With standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) modalities, a reliable distinction […]

Radiation therapy as a means to improve outcome for a patient suffering from medulloblastoma was first used by Cushing in the 1920s. In 1953 Patterson and Farr reported their success on 27 medulloblastoma patients treated with craniospinal irradiation.1 As technology has improved, radiation oncologists have developed techniques to deliver higher-energy radiation beams that are more […]