Prognostic and predictive biomarkers in central nervous system tumours: the molecular state of play.

Central nervous system (CNS) tumours were one of the first cancer types to adopt and integrate molecular profiling into routine clinical diagnosis in 2016. The vast majority of these biomarkers, used to discriminate between tumour types, also offered prognostic information. With the advent of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and other large genomic datasets, further prognostic sub-stratification was possible within tumour types, leading to increased precision in CNS tumour grading.

Patterns of care in adult histone mutant gliomas: Results of an international survey.

Background: Histone mutant gliomas (HMG) with histone H3 K27 and G34 mutations are recognized as biologically discrete entities with distinct anatomical locations, younger age at presentation (in comparison to the most common high-grade gliomas, IDH wildtype glioblastoma), and poor prognosis. There is a paucity of data regarding the management of adult HMG patients and no consensus on management. This study aims to identify current patterns of Australian and US neuro-oncology clinical practice for this entity.

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in a Routine Neuropathology Service in Australia.

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neuropathological diagnosis defined by a unique pattern of hyperphosphorylated tau (p-tau) accumulation that begins in neocortical regions of the brain. It is associated with a range of neuropsychological symptoms, but a definitive diagnosis can only be made by postmortem brain examination. In 2018, we instituted CTE screening for all autopsy brains as part of our routine departmental protocol by performing p-tau immunohistochemistry on a restricted set of 3 neocortical blocks (frontal, temporal, and parietal).

Deep Sequencing of Small RNAs from Neurosurgical Extracellular Vesicles Substantiates miR-486-3p as a Circulating Biomarker that Distinguishes Glioblastoma from Lower-Grade Astrocytoma Patients.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) play key roles in glioblastoma (GBM; astrocytoma grade IV) biology and are novel sources of biomarkers. EVs released from GBM tumors can cross the blood-brain-barrier into the periphery carrying GBM molecules, including small non-coding RNA (sncRNA). Biomarkers cargoed in circulating EVs have shown great promise for assessing the molecular state of brain tumors in situ.

A Comprehensive Proteomic SWATH-MS Workflow for Profiling Blood Extracellular Vesicles: A New Avenue for Glioma Tumour Surveillance.

Improving outcomes for diffuse glioma patients requires methods that can accurately and sensitively monitor tumour activity and treatment response. Extracellular vesicles (EV) are membranous nanoparticles that can traverse the blood-brain-barrier, carrying oncogenic molecules into the circulation. Measuring clinically relevant glioma biomarkers cargoed in circulating EVs could revolutionise how glioma patients are managed.

High mitotic activity in a capillary hemangioma of the cauda equina: Case report and review of the literature.

Background: Capillary hemangiomas of the skin and soft tissue are a common entity, while capillary hemangiomas of the central nervous system are an extremely rare pathology. There are less than 20 published cases of intradural lesions involving the cauda equina.

Case Presentation: Herein, we describe a young patient with a capillary hemangioma of the cauda equina that underwent successful surgical resection.

Correction to: Chronic traumatic encephalopathy in two former Australian National Rugby League players.

In the original publication of this article [1] the term 'National Rugby League (NRL)' was used to refer to professional rugby league competition sport in Australia. The term should have read 'professional rugby league' to include the various professional competition nomenclatures over the last fifty years, including but not limited to NRL. In this correction article, the incorrect and correct information are published.

Microtomy: Cutting Formalin-Fixed, Paraffin-Embedded Sections.

Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue (FFPE) still plays an important role in biobanking, since it is comparatively easy to obtain and store in comparison to fresh frozen tissue. They are stored as paraffin or FFPE blocks. Unstained slides derived from FFPE blocks may be used for hematoxylin and eosin histology, special stains, immunohistochemistry, and chromogenic or fluorescent in situ hybridization.

Extracellular Vesicles from Neurosurgical Aspirates Identifies Chaperonin Containing TCP1 Subunit 6A as a Potential Glioblastoma Biomarker with Prognostic Significance.

Glioblastoma, WHO-grade IV glioma, carries a dismal prognosis owing to its infiltrative growth and limited treatment options. Glioblastoma-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs; 30-1000 nm membranous particles) influence the microenvironment to mediate tumor aggressiveness and carry oncogenic cargo across the blood-brain barrier into the circulation. As such, EVs are biomarker reservoirs with enormous potential for assessing glioblastoma tumors in situ.

Rheumatoid leptomeningitis presenting with an acute neuropsychiatric disorder.

Leptomeningitis is a rare central nervous system manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis, generally in patients with established chronic rheumatoid disease. We report a 41-year-old man without previous rheumatoid arthritis or psychiatric disorder who presented with an acute neuropsychiatric disturbance and polyarthralgia. His MR scan of brain showed asymmetric bifrontal leptomeningitis, confirmed on (18F)-fluoro-D-glucose-positron emission tomography.

Her2neu amplification associates with Co-deletion 1p/14q in recurrent meningiomas.

Background: The current methods to predict recurrence and aggressive behaviour of meningiomas rely mainly on histological grading, histological subtype, proliferative index, as well as brain invasion. In many instances, histological grade alone fails to predict recurrence in the grade I and grade II meningiomas. Deletions of 1p and 14q have previously been reported to correlate with poor prognosis in terms of either recurrence or higher histological grades.

Cytomorphologic spectrum of mixed pituitary adenoma-gangliocytomas: a report of two cases.

Background: Mixed pituitary adenoma-gangliocytomas are rare tumors with a broad morphologic spectrum. Smear cytology is a useful tool for recognizing these tumors in an intraoperative setting.

Cases: The patients were 45 and 30 years old, and both presented with headache.

Tumor budding and survival after potentially curative resection of node-positive colon cancer.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between tumor budding and other pathology features and overall survival after resection of clinicopathological stage III colon cancer.

Methods: The number of buds and other histopathological features were assessed in 477 patients who were operated on between 1971 and 2001, with follow-up to December 2006. Overall survival was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression.