Magnetic resonance‐guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (MRgLITT) has emerged as a popular minimally invasive alternative to open resective surgery for drug‐resistant epilepsy (DRE). We sought to perform a systematic review and individual participant data meta‐analysis to identify independent predictors of seizure outcome and complications following MRgLITT for DRE. Eleven databases were searched from January 1, 2010 to February 6, 2021 using the terms “MR‐guided ablation therapy” and “epilepsy”. Multivariable mixed‐effects Cox and logistic regression identified predictors of time to seizure recurrence, seizure freedom, operative complications, and postoperative neurological deficits. From 8705 citations, 46 studies reporting on 450 MRgLITT DRE patients (mean age = 29.5 ± 18.1 years, 49.6% female) were included. Median postoperative seizure freedom and follow‐up duration were 15.5 and 19.0 months, respectively. Overall, 240 (57.8%) of 415 patients (excluding palliative corpus callosotomy) were seizure‐free at last follow‐up. Generalized seizure semiology (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.78, p = .020) and nonlesional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings (HR = 1.50, p = .032) independently predicted shorter time to seizure recurrence. Cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM; odds ratio [OR] = 7.97, p < .001) and mesial temporal sclerosis/atrophy (MTS/A; OR = 2.21, p = .011) were independently associated with greater odds of seizure freedom at last follow‐up. Operative complications occurred in 28 (8.5%) of 330 patients and were independently associated with extratemporal ablations (OR = 5.40, p = .012) and nonlesional MRI studies (OR = 3.25, p = .017). Postoperative neurological deficits were observed in 53 (15.1%) of 352 patients and were independently predicted by hypothalamic hamartoma etiology (OR = 5.93, p = .006) and invasive electroencephalographic monitoring (OR = 4.83, p = .003). Overall, MRgLITT is particularly effective in treating patients with well‐circumscribed lesional DRE, such as CCM and MTS/A, but less effective in nonlesional cases or lesional cases with a more diffuse epileptogenic network associated with generalized seizures. This study identifies independent predictors of seizure freedom and complications following MRgLITT that may help further guide patient selection.
BACKGROUND: TRK fusions are detected in less than 3% of CNS tumors. Given their rarity, there are limited data on the clinical course of these patients. METHODS: We contacted 166 oncology centers worldwide to retrieve data on patients with TRK fusion-driven CNS tumors. Data extracted included demographics, histopathology, NTRK gene fusion, treatment modalities and outcomes. Patients less than 18 years of age at diagnosis were included in this analysis. RESULTS: Seventy-three pediatric patients with TRK fusion-driven primary CNS tumors were identified. Median age at diagnosis was 2.4 years (range 0.0–17.8) and 60.2 % were male. NTRK2 gene fusions were found in 37 patients (50.7%), NTRK1 and NTRK3 aberrations were detected in 19 (26.0%) and 17 (23.3%), respectively. Tumor types included 38 high-grade gliomas (HGG; 52.1%), 20 low-grade gliomas (LGG; 27.4%), 4 embryonal tumors (5.5%) and 11 others (15.1%). Median follow-up was 46.5 months (range 3-226). During the course of their disease, a total of 62 (84.9%) patients underwent surgery with a treatment intent, 50 (68.5%) patients received chemotherapy, 35 (47.9%) patients received radiation therapy, while 34 (46.6%) patients received NTRK inhibitors (3 as first line treatment). Twenty-four (32.9%) had no progression including 9 LGG (45%) and 9 HGG (23.6%). At last follow-up, only one (5.6%-18 evaluable) patient with LGG died compared to 11 with HGG (35.5%-31 evaluable). For LGG the median progression-free survival (PFS) after the first line of treatment was 17 months (95% CI: 0.0-35.5) and median overall survival (OS) was not reached. For patients with HGG the median PFS was 30 months (95% CI: 11.9-48.1) and median OS was 182 months (95% CI 20.2-343.8). CONCLUSIONS: We report the largest cohort of pediatric patients with TRK fusion-driven primary CNS tumors. These results will help us to better understand clinical evolution and compare outcomes with ongoing clinical trials.
2052 Background: TRK fusions are detected in less than 3% of central nervous system (CNS) tumors. Given their rarity, there are limited data on the clinical course of affected patients. Methods: We contacted 166 oncology centers worldwide to retrieve data on patients with TRK fusion-driven CNS tumors. Data extracted included demographics, histopathology, TRK gene fusion, treatment modalities and outcomes. Results: Ninety-two patients with TRK fusion-driven primary CNS tumors were identified including 76 pediatric patients (82.6%), 15 adults (16.3%) and 1 not specified (1.1%). Median age at diagnosis was 4.4 years (range 0.0–78.3) and 58.7 % were male. NTRK2 gene fusions were found in 45 patients (48.9%), NTRK1 and NTRK3 aberrations were detected in 27 (29.3%) and 20 (21.7%), respectively. Tumor types included 56 high-grade gliomas (HGG; 60.9%), 20 low-grade gliomas (LGG; 21.7%), 4 embryonal tumors (4.3%) and 12 others (13.0%). Median follow-up was 40.5 months (range 3–226). During the course of their disease, 75 (81.5%) patients underwent surgery with a treatment intent, 67 (72.8%) patients received chemotherapy, 50 (54.3%) patients received radiation therapy, while 47 (51.1%) patients received NTRK inhibitors (6 as first line treatment). There were significant differences in the median progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) between pediatric patients compared to adults. The pediatric median PFS was 32 months (95% CI: 15.5–48.5) compared to 8 months for the adult (95% CI: 4.5–11.5, p = 0.015). The pediatric median OS was 182 months (95% CI: 25.1–338.9) compared to 24 months (95% CI: 18.3–29.7 p < 0.001) for adult patients. There was no difference in the PFS of LGG compared to HGG. However, the OS was significantly worse for the HGG when compared to LGG (p = 0.039). The median OS for LGG was not reached and the median OS for HGG was 70 months (95% CI 7.5–132.5). Nineteen patients with HGG (38.0 % 19/50 evaluable patients) died compared to only one patient with LGG (5.6% 1/18 evaluable patients, p = 0.014). Conclusions: We report the largest cohort of patients with TRK fusion-driven primary CNS tumors. These results will help us to better understand clinical evolution and compare outcomes with ongoing clinical trials.
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