In 2014, the International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) updated the criteria for diagnosing myeloma and added three additional criteria to the traditional Calcium elevation, Renal impairment, Anemia, Bone disease (CRAB) criteria, called the Sixty % marrow plama cells, Light chain ratio >60, Mri demonstates lytic lesions (SLiM) criteria (clonal bone marrow plasma cells ≥60%, involved to uninvolved free light chain ratio (FLCr) ≥100 and >1 focal lesion on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)). We report on the outcomes of 30 patients who underwent autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) where therapy was initiated solely based on SLiM criteria and compared them to a matched cohort of 60 patients whose myeloma-defining event was CRAB. The SLiM cohort had a shorter median time to neutrophil (15 vs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPatients with FLT3-mutated acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) that relapse or are refractory (R/R) to intensive induction have poor outcomes. Gilteritinib has recently become standard-of-care for patients with R/R FLT3-mutated AML. We investigated whether adding venetoclax to gilteritinib (gilt-ven) improves outcomes as compared with gilteritinib monotherapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: High-dose therapy (HDT) followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) has become part of standard of care (SOC) in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. In this review, we provide a historical perspective on ASCT since its introduction in the 1990s.
Summary: Overall survival (OS) benefit for HDT followed by ASCT was demonstrated in studies comparing HDT with ASCT to standard-dose therapy (SDT) before the era of novel agents.
Several targeted therapies have been approved in recent years for second-line treatment of immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), providing an alternative to rituximab and splenectomy. The extent to which these drugs reduce bleeding risk has not been well defined. Targeted therapies recently approved for the treatment of ITP in adults were identified through a search of recently published professional guidelines.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAbout 20% of MM patients have T2DM. We assessed the impact of T2DM/pre-T2DM on MM progression and OS. We collected retrospective data of newly diagnosed MM patients in Maccabi health services, Israel, between 2012 and 2016.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe management of patients harboring central nervous system (CNS) hemangiopericytomas (HPCs) is a partially answered challenge. These are rare locally aggressive lesions, with potential for local recurrence, distal neural metastasis (DNM), and extraneural metastasis (ENM). Resection, when feasible, remains the initial treatment option, providing histological diagnosis and immediate relief of tumor-related mass effect.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe elderly (≥60 years) population increases rapidly, at a projected 2.9%/year increments by year 2050. The concept of Frailty can be outlined using one of two models, the phenotypic or deficit based models, serving as a clinical tool to measure the overall health and risk of adverse events.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLife expectancy continues to rise exponentially. The concept of frailty has emerged as a tool helping to gauge overall health status and risk of adverse events in aging patients, has shown to exhibit a linear relationship with poor survival in the elderly. Multiple pathologies have different genetic, radiographic, clinical and prognostic characteristics in the elderly, responding differently to various treatment modalities and thus present as unique clinical entities, not properly represented in large - guidelines generating studies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Some patients are diagnosed with asymptomatic meningioma(s) after undergoing a screening CT and MRI for minor ailments or postresection.
Objective: To help clinicians in decision making for treatment of asymptomatic meningiomas.
Methods: A single center retrospective cohort study of 117 patients with 122 tumors treated with Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS; Elekta AB, Stockholm, Sweden).
Objective: Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS) provides a safe and effective management option for patients with all types of pituitary adenomas. The long-term adverse effects of targeted radiation to the hypothalamic-pituitary axis in relationship to radiation dose remain unclear. In this retrospective review, the authors investigated the role of differential radiation doses in predicting long-term clinical outcomes and pituitary function after GKRS for pituitary adenomas.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a highly effective management approach for patients with vestibular schwannomas (VS), with 10-yr control rates up 98%. When it fails, however, few data are available to guide management.
Objective: To perform a retrospective analysis of patients who underwent 2 SRS procedures on the same VS to assess the safety and efficacy of this practice.
Rambam Maimonides Med J
July 2018
The surgical management of cerebral and skull base lesions has evolved greatly in the last few decades. Still, a complete resection of lesions abutting critical neurovascular structures carries significant morbidity. Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) has emerged as an increasingly accepted treatment option.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a potentially important option for intracranial ependymoma patients.
Objective: To analyze the outcomes of intracranial ependymoma patients who underwent SRS as a part of multimodality management.
Methods: Seven centers participating in the International Gamma Knife Research Foundation identified 89 intracranial ependymoma patients who underwent SRS (113 tumors).
Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) can be used as part of multimodality management for patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL). The objective of this study is to evaluate outcomes of SRS for this disease. The International Gamma Knife Research Foundation identified 23 PCNSL patients who underwent SRS for either relapsed (intracerebral in-field or out-of-field tumor recurrences) or refractory disease from 1995-2014.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: For some jugular foramen schwannomas (JFSs), complete resection is possible but may be associated with significant morbidity. Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a minimally invasive alternative or adjunct to microsurgery for JFSs. The authors reviewed clinical and imaging outcomes of SRS for patients with these tumors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSilent corticotroph staining pituitary adenoma (SCA) represents an uncommon subset of Non-Functioning adenomas (NFAs), hypothesized to be more locally aggressive. In this retrospective multicenter study, we investigate the safety and effectiveness of Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) in patients with SCA compared with other non-SCA NFA's. Eight centers participating in the International Gamma-Knife Research Foundation (IGKRF) contributed to this study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Pineal region tumors represent a rare and histologically diverse group of lesions. Few studies are available to guide management and the outcomes after stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS).
Methods: Patients who underwent SRS for a pineal region tumor and for whom at least 6 months of imaging follow-up was available were retrospectively assessed in 5 centers.
Background: The management of brainstem arteriovenous malformations (bAVMs) is a formidable challenge. bAVMs harbor higher morbidity and mortality compared to other locations.
Objective: To review the outcomes following stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) of bAVMs in a multicenter study.
While stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) has been shown effective in the management of brain metastases, small brain metastases (≤10 mm) can pose unique challenges. Our aim was to investigate the efficacy of SRS in the treatment of small brain metastases, as well as elucidate clinically relevant factors impacting local failure (LF). We utilized a large, single-institution cohort to perform a retrospective analysis of patients with brain metastases up to 1 cm in maximal dimension.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPituitary adenomas represent one of the most common types of intracranial tumors, accounting for 10-20% of intracranial tumors. While their macroscopic appearance and anatomical location are relatively homogeneous, pituitary tumors differ widely, generating a variety of neurological and endocrine clinical sequelae. Treatment options include hormone suppressive medical therapy, microscopic or endoscopic neurosurgical resection, radiosurgery, radiation therapy, or observation depending on the biochemical profile and the clinical status of the patient.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOBJECTIVE Parasellar meningiomas tend to invade the suprasellar, cavernous sinus, and petroclival regions, encroaching on adjacent neurovascular structures. As such, they prove difficult to safely and completely resect. Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) has played a central role in the treatment of parasellar meningiomas.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOBJECTIVE Several recent studies have improved our understanding of the outcomes of volume-staged (VS) and dose-staged (DS) stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for the treatment of large (volume > 10 cm) brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). In light of these recent additions to the literature, the aim of this systematic review is to provide an updated comparison of VS-SRS and DS-SRS for large AVMs. METHODS A systematic review of the literature was performed using PubMed to identify cohorts of 5 or more patients with large AVMs who had been treated with VS-SRS or DS-SRS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOBJECTIVE Melanoma represents the third most common cause of CNS metastases. Immunotherapy has evolved as a treatment option for patients with Stage IV melanoma. Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) also elicits an immune response within the brain and may interact with immunotherapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOBJECTIVE The goal of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) when used for patients with intractable idiopathic glossopharyngeal neuralgia. METHODS Six participating centers of the International Gamma Knife Research Foundation identified 22 patients who underwent SRS for intractable glossopharyngeal neuralgia between 1998 and 2015. The median patient age was 60 years (range 34-83 years).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Incompletely obliterated cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) after initial treatment with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) can be treated with a repeat session of SRS. However, the relative efficacy of repeat vs initial SRS is not well specified.
Objective: To retrospectively compare in matched cohorts the outcomes of repeat vs initial SRS for the treatment of matched cohorts with angioarchitecturally similar AVMs.