MEK inhibition with trametinib is a successful therapy in ganglioglioma.

Gangliogliomas are predominantly low-grade primary brain tumors comprised of neuronal and glial components that are found in both pediatric and young adult populations. In the majority of cases, surgical resection of these tumors is curative. However, tumor location in eloquent centers of the brain can make surgical intervention inappropriate.

Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) associated autoimmune meningoencephalitis in a patient receiving nivolumab.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) represent a major development in cancer treatment, allowing for improved survival and disease control in an expanding number of cancer types. Due to their mechanism of disrupting immunologic homeostasis, ICIs are frequently associated with adverse effects, termed immune related adverse effects (irAE). These side effects can affect any organ system, including the central and peripheral nervous systems.

Top Ten Tips Palliative Care Clinicians Should Know When Caring for Patients with Brain Cancer.

The diagnosis of an aggressive, primary brain tumor is life altering for those affected and too often portends a poor prognosis. Despite decades of research, neither a cure nor even a therapy that reliably and dramatically prolongs survival has been found. Fortunately, there are a number of treatments that may prolong the life of select brain tumor patients although the symptom burden can sometimes be high.

Education Research: Neuroradiology curriculum in neurology residency training programs: How we teach neuroimaging.

Objective: To better understand how the essential skill of interpreting various neuroimaging studies is taught to neurology residents in Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited training programs.

Methods: A 22-question survey was sent electronically to 150 ACGME adult neurology program directors. We collected data regarding the presence of a neuroimaging curriculum, frequency of review sessions and testing, resource availability, and program director confidence in neuroimaging skills of graduating residents.

The Neurologic Assessment in Neuro-Oncology (NANO) Scale as an Assessment Tool for Survival in Patients With Primary Glioblastoma.

Background: The Neurologic Assessment in Neuro-Oncology (NANO) scale is a standardized objective metric designed to measure neurological function in neuro-oncology. Current neuroradiological evaluation guidelines fail to use specific clinical criteria for progression.

Objective: To determine if the NANO scale was a reliable assessment tool in glioblastoma (GBM) patients and whether it correlated to survival.

New-onset seizure during and after brain tumor excision: a risk assessment analysis.

OBJECTIVE Prophylactic use of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in seizure-naïve brain tumor patients remains a topic of debate. This study aimed to characterize a subset of patients at highest risk for new-onset perioperative seizures (i.e.

Combined-Modality Therapy With Radiation and Chemotherapy for Elderly Patients With Glioblastoma in the Temozolomide Era: A National Cancer Database Analysis.

Importance: The optimal management for elderly patients with glioblastoma (GBM) is controversial. Following maximal safe resection or biopsy, accepted treatment paradigms for elderly patients with GBM include combined-modality therapy (CMT) with both radiotherapy (RT) and chemotherapy (CT), RT alone, and CT alone.

Objective: To evaluate the overall survival (OS) outcomes associated with RT, CT, and CMT for elderly patients with GBM in the modern temozolomide era.

The impact of adjuvant radiation therapy for high-grade gliomas by histology in the United States population.

Purpose: To compare the survival impact of adjuvant external beam radiation therapy (RT) for malignant gliomas of glioblastoma (GBM), anaplastic astrocytoma (AA), anaplastic oligodendroglioma (AO), and mixed anaplastic oligoastrocytoma (AOA) histology.

Methods And Materials: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was queried from 1998 to 2007 for patients aged ≥18 years with high-grade gliomas managed with upfront surgical resection, treated with and without adjuvant RT.

Results: The primary analysis totaled 14,461 patients, with 12,115 cases of GBM (83.

Phase II trial of hypofractionated intensity-modulated radiation therapy combined with temozolomide and bevacizumab for patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma.

Bevacizumab blocks the effects of VEGF and may allow for more aggressive radiotherapy schedules. We evaluated the efficacy and toxicity of hypofractionated intensity-modulated radiation therapy with concurrent and adjuvant temozolomide and bevacizumab in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma. Patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma were treated with hypofractionated intensity modulated radiation therapy to the surgical cavity and residual tumor with a 1 cm margin (PTV1) to 60 Gy and to the T2 abnormality with a 1 cm margin (PTV2) to 30 Gy in 10 daily fractions over 2 weeks.

Anti-ma2 paraneoplastic encephalitis in association with recurrent cervical cancer.

Background: Paraneoplastic neurological syndromes are rare, and although they are frequently associated with gynecological malignancies, cervical cancer is a rare cause. The symptoms of anti-Ma2 encephalitis are diverse and often present prior to the diagnosis of malignancy.

Case Report: We report a case of a 37-year-old woman with a history of cervical cancer presenting with unexplained weight gain and vertical supranuclear gaze palsy.

Characteristics and outcomes of elderly patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma: the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center experience.

Background: Approximately 50% of all patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) are aged ≥65 years; however, this group is relatively understudied, and to the authors's knowledge, optimal treatment for older patients is not well defined.

Methods: This was a retrospective review of PCNSL patients aged ≥65 years who were treated at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center between 1986 and 2008. A multivariate analysis of demographic and clinical variables on prognosis and receipt of treatment was performed.

Intraventricular meningioma after cranial irradiation for childhood leukemia.

Meningiomas are among the most common brain tumors in adults. They are most commonly located over the cerebral convexities and are infrequently found in an intraventricular location. Ionizing cranial radiation is a risk factor for late occurrence of meningiomas within the radiation field.

Molecular profiling of oligodendrogliomas: impact on prognosis, treatment, and future directions.

Oligodendrogliomas account for a small subset of all gliomas, but they often are more sensitive to treatment than other glioma subtypes. In addition, oligodendrogliomas are the first central nervous system neoplasm for which a specific molecular abnormality, allelic loss of 1p/19q (1p/19q loss), correlates with patient outcome in large-scale prospective clinical trials. However, the incorporation of 1p/19q status into clinical practice remains controversial.