Glioma immunotherapy enhancement and CD8-specific sialic acid cleavage by isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)-1.

The promise of adaptive cancer immunotherapy in treating highly malignant tumors such as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) can only be realized through expanding its benefits to more patients. Alleviating various modes of immune suppression has so far failed to achieve such expansion, but exploiting endogenous immune enhancers among mutated cancer genes could represent a more direct approach to immunotherapy improvement. We found that Isocitrate Dehydrogenase-1 (IDH1), which is commonly mutated in gliomas, enhances glioma vaccine efficacy in mice and discerns long from short survivors after vaccine therapy in GBM patients.

Mechanically matching the rheological properties of brain tissue for drug-delivery in human glioblastoma models.

Peptide functionalized hyaluronic acid (HA) cross-linked by cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]), a new class of drug-delivery reservoirs, is used to enable improved drug bioavailability for glioblastoma tumors in patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models. The mechanical and viscoelastic properties of native human and mouse tissues are measured over 8 h via oscillatory rheology under physiological conditions. Treatment with drug-loaded hydrogels allowed for a significant survival impact of 45 % (55.

In Vitro Methods for the Study of Glioblastoma Stem-Like Cell Radiosensitivity.

Ionizing radiation is a critical component of glioblastoma (GBM) therapy. Recent data have implicated glioblastoma stem-like cells (GSCs) as determinants of GBM development, maintenance, and treatment response. Understanding the response of GSCs to radiation should thus provide insight into the development of improved GBM treatment strategies.

Detection of glioblastoma intratumor heterogeneity in radiosensitivity using patient-derived neurosphere cultures.

Purpose: Glioblastoma (GBM) is characterized by extensive clonal diversity suggesting the presence of tumor cells with varying degrees of treatment sensitivity. Radiotherapy is an integral part of glioblastoma treatment. Whether GBMs are comprised of spatially distinct cellular populations with uniform or varying degrees of radiosensitivity has not been established.

The Olfactory Bulb Provides a Radioresistant Niche for Glioblastoma Cells.

Purpose: The various microenvironments that exist within the brain combined with the invasive nature of glioblastoma (GBM) creates the potential for a topographic influence on tumor cell radiosensitivity. The aim of this study was to determine whether specific brain microenvironments differentially influence tumor cell radioresponse.

Methods And Materials: GBM stem-like cells were implanted into the right striatum of nude mice.

Radiation Drives the Evolution of Orthotopic Xenografts Initiated from Glioblastoma Stem-like Cells.

A consequence of the intratumor heterogeneity (ITH) of glioblastoma (GBM) is the susceptibility to treatment-driven evolution. To determine the potential of radiotherapy to influence GBM evolution, we used orthotopic xenografts initiated from CD133 GBM stem-like cells (GSC). Toward this end, orthotopic xenografts grown in nude mice were exposed to a fractionated radiation protocol, which resulted in a significant increase in animal survival.

An adherent tissue-inspired hydrogel delivery vehicle utilised in primary human glioma models.

A physical hydrogel cross-linked via the host-guest interactions of cucurbit[8]uril and utilised as an implantable drug-delivery vehicle for the brain is described herein. Constructed from hyaluronic acid, this hydrogel is biocompatible and has a high water content of 98%. The mechanical properties have been characterised by rheology and compared with the modulus of human brain tissue demonstrating the production of a soft material that can be moulded into the cavity it is implanted into following surgical resection.

Local alkylating chemotherapy applied immediately after 5-ALA guided resection of glioblastoma does not provide additional benefit.

Grade IV glioma is the most common and aggressive primary brain tumour. Gross total resection with 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) guided surgery combined with local chemotherapy (carmustine wafers) is an attractive treatment strategy in these patients. No previous studies have examined the benefit carmustine wafers in a treatment programme of 5-ALA guided resection followed by a temozolomide-based chemoradiotherapy protocol.

Predicting shunt failure in children: should the global shunt revision rate be a quality measure?

Object: Ventricular shunts for pediatric hydrocephalus continue to be plagued with high failure rates. Reported risk factors for shunt failure are inconsistent and controversial. The raw or global shunt revision rate has been the foundation of several proposed quality metrics.

Cervicomedullary tumors in children.

Object: Cervicomedullary tumors (CMTs) represent a heterogeneous group of intrinsic neoplasms that are typically low grade and generally carry a good prognosis. This single-institution study was undertaken to document the outcomes and current treatment philosophy for these challenging neoplasms.

Methods: The charts of all pediatric patients with CMTs who received treatment at St.

Factors associated with career satisfaction and burnout among US neurosurgeons: results of a nationwide survey.

Unlabelled: OBJECT :The object of this study was to identify and quantify predictors of burnout and career satisfaction among US neurosurgeons.

Methods: All US members (3247) of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) were invited to participate in a survey between September and December 2012. Responses were evaluated through univariate analysis.

Highly cited publications in pediatric neurosurgery: part 2.

Purpose: Citation counting can be used to evaluate the impact an article has made on its discipline. This study characterizes the most cited articles related to clinical pediatric neurosurgery as of July 2013.

Methods: A list of search terms was computed using Thomson Reuters Web of Science® (WOS) to capture the 100 most cited articles in the overall literature and the top 50 articles from 2002 to 2012 related to clinical pediatric neurosurgery from non-dedicated pediatric neurosurgical journals.

Highly cited publications in pediatric neurosurgery.

Object: The number of citations a publication receives can be used as a surrogate for the impact that article has made on its discipline. This study identifies and characterizes the most cited articles in pediatric neurosurgical journals as of April 2013.

Methods: We examined four clinical pediatric neurosurgery journals.