0000000000187419
AUTHOR
Rina Di Bonaventura
A Spotlight on the Role of Radiomics and Machine-Learning Applications in the Management of Intracranial Meningiomas: A New Perspective in Neuro-Oncology: A Review.
Background: In recent decades, the application of machine learning technologies to medical imaging has opened up new perspectives in neuro-oncology, in the so-called radiomics field. Radiomics offer new insight into glioma, aiding in clinical decision-making and patients’ prognosis evaluation. Although meningiomas represent the most common primary CNS tumor and the majority of them are benign and slow-growing tumors, a minor part of them show a more aggressive behavior with an increased proliferation rate and a tendency to recur. Therefore, their treatment may represent a challenge. Methods: According to PRISMA guidelines, a systematic literature review was performed. We included selected a…
The Role of 3D-Printed Custom-Made Vertebral Body Implants in the Treatment of Spinal Tumors: A Systematic Review
In spinal surgery, 3D prothesis represents a useful instrument for spinal reconstruction after the removal of spinal tumors that require an “en bloc” resection. This represents a complex and demanding procedure, aiming to restore spinal length, alignment and weight-bearing capacity and to provide immediate stability. Thus, in this systematic review the authors searched the literature to investigate and discuss the advantages and limitations of using 3D-printed custom-made vertebral bodies in the treatment of spinal tumors. A systematic literature review was conducted following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) statement, with no limits in terms …
The Palliative Care in the Metastatic Spinal Tumors. A Systematic Review on the Radiotherapy and Surgical Perspective
Spine represents the most common site for metastatic disease involvement. Due to the close relationship between the spinal cord and critical structures, therapeutic management of spinal metastases remains challenging. Spinal localization can lead to neurological sequelae, which can significantly affect the quality of life in patients with a limited life expectancy. The authors conducted a systematic literature review according to PRISMA guidelines in order to determine the impact of the most updated palliative care on spinal metastases. The initial literature search retrieved 2526 articles, manually screened based on detailed exclusion criteria. Finally, 65 studies met the inclusion criteri…
Intraoperative Ultrasound: Emerging Technology and Novel Applications in Brain Tumor Surgery
Intraoperative ultrasound (IOUS) is becoming progressively more common during brain tumor surgery. We present data from our case series of brain tumor surgery performed with the aid of IOUS in order to identify IOUS advantages and crucial aspects that may improve the management of neurosurgical procedures for brain tumors. From January 2021 to September 2021, 17 patients with different brain tumors underwent brain tumor surgery aided by the use of IOUS. During surgery, the procedure was supported by the use of multiples ultrasonographic modalities in addition to standard B-mode: Doppler, color Doppler, elastosonography, and contrast-enhanced intraoperative ultrasound (CEUS). In selected cas…
Update on mechanism and therapeutic implications of spinal cord stimulation and cerebral hemodynamics: A narrative review
Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is well known for its early role in the management of chronic pain, mainly failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS), spasticity, and bowel and bladder dysfunction. In more recent years, SCS has been proposed for patients suffering from refractory angina or peripheral vasculopathies in order to gain symptom relief, thus indicating some hemodynamic effect on the peripheral circulation. Taking into account this scientific observation, since the late1980s, researchers have started to investigate the potential effect of SCS on cerebral blood flow (CBF) regulation and its possible application in certain pathological settings dealing with vascular pattern dysfunction, such…
Liquid Biopsy in Diagnosis and Prognosis of High-Grade Gliomas; State-of-the-Art and Literature Review
Gliomas, particularly high-grade gliomas, represent the most common and aggressive tumors of the CNS and are still burdened by high mortality and a very poor prognosis, regardless of the type of therapy. Their diagnosis and monitoring rely on imaging techniques and direct biopsy of the pathological tissue; however, both procedures have inherent limitations. To address these limitations, liquid biopsies have been proposed in this field. They could represent an innovative tool that could help clinicians in the early diagnosis, monitoring, and prognosis of these tumors. Furthermore, the rapid development of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies has led to a significant reduction in seq…
Spinal Cord Stimulation to Treat Unresponsive Cancer Pain: A Possible Solution in Palliative Oncological Therapy
(1) Background: Treatment of cancer-related pain is still challenging, and it can be managed by both medical and interventional therapies. Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) is a minimally invasive technique, and its use is rapidly increasing in the treatment of chronic pain. (2) Materials and Methods: Our study aims to perform a review of the pertinent literature about current evidences in cancer pain treatment by Spinal Cord Stimulation. Moreover, we created a database based on case reports or case series (18 studies) in the literature. We analyzed a clinical group of oncological patients affected by intractable pain undergoing SCS implantation, focusing on outcome. (3) Results: The analysis o…