The effect of using awake craniotomy combined with multimodal techniques intraoperatively on the survival of patients with glioblastoma: A retrospective single-centre study

Abstract

Background :We analysed outcomes of cerebral glioblastoma patients undergoing awake craniotomies combined with multimodal techniques for tumour resection, with regards to the extent of resection, functional preservation, and prognosis. Methods : A retrospective analysis was conducted on adult glioblastoma patients who underwent an awake craniotomy from September 2010 to August 2018 under anaesthesia combined with multimodal techniques. Results: In total, 81 glioblastoma patient charts were analysed. The most common lesion sites were the frontal lobe (n=36), temporal lobe (n=17), and parietal lobe (n=6). The main symptoms were headache (n=51), dyskinesia (n=11), speech disorder (n=9), and epilepsy (n=10). The extent of resection was gross total for 91.36% patients, subtotal for 7.41%, and partial for 1.23%. No deaths occurred 30 days post-operation. Intracranial haemorrhage occurred in 2 patients, seizures in 5 patients, and intracranial infections in 3 patients. There was no significant difference between preoperative and postoperative Karnofsky Performance Status scores (P>0.05). There were no significant changes in postoperative neurological function in 50 patients. Symptoms improved in 24 patients. Three patients exhibited motor dysfunction, 2 exhibited speech deficits, and 2 exhibited sensory deficits. The average duration of hospitalization was 6.89±2.66 days. The shortest survival time was 4 months, the longest survival time was 26 months, and the median survival time was 12 months. Conclusions: Awake craniotomy using multimodal techniques such as neuronavigation, intraoperative ultrasound, electrophysiology, and tumour fluorescence during an operation can maximize safety during the cerebral glioblastoma resection, thus protecting brain function and improving surgical efficacy and patients’ postoperative quality of life.