Place et modalités de l’irradiation postopératoire dans la prise en charge des métastases cérébrales

Metastases are the most common brain tumors. After surgery, stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) of the resection cavity is the standard of care. Data from two randomized trials indicate that SRT to the surgical bed is an effective treatment in reducing local failure as compared with observation, while reducing the risk of cognitive deterioration and maintaining quality of life as compared with whole brain radiation therapy. Local control appears higher after hypofractionated SRT compared to single-fraction SRT. Several questions such as target volumes, the optimal regimen in particular for large tumor bed, strategies to reduce the risk of lepto-meningeal recurrence, and the treatment sequence still need to be answered.     

肺癌脑转移放射治疗方式及进展

肺癌是发病率和死亡率最高的恶性肿瘤，其脑转移发生率高且预后差。近年来随着靶向以及免疫治疗药物相继研制成功，肺癌原发灶局部控制率得以提升，因此对其脑转移的治疗更加关注。放射治疗是肺癌脑转移治疗的重要手段之一，现将肺癌脑转移放射治疗方式及进展进行综述。     

The appearance of breast cancer metastases on dry bone: Implications for forensic anthropology

Breast carcinoma is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in women. The study of bone pathologies presents considerable potential in anthropology, paleopathology, forensic science and medicine. In this paper, we present and discuss metastatic lesions found in the skeletons of known individuals from the CAL Milano Cemetery Skeletal Collection, clinically diagnosed with breast cancer during life. Fourteen skeletons from a contemporary and identified collection were macroscopically studied and metastases were identified by comparison with clinical literature. As a result, bone metastases were observed in 43% of the study sample. They were located most commonly on the ribs (28.1%), pelvic girdle (19.8%), vertebrae (15.6%), skull (15.6%), scapulae (10.2%) as well as proximal segment of the femora (8.4%) and humeri (2.4%) respectively, favoring sites of high vascularization. The majority of the lesions were osteolytic, although osteoblastic and mixed metastases did occur. Osteolytic metastases appear as coalescent porosity or round to oval perforating lesions on bones with denticulated margins and pitted surrounding bone, whereas osteoblastic metastases thickened the existing trabecula (spongiosclerosis). Mixed metastases were perforating lytic lesions exposing the osteoblastic activity in the underlying trabecular bone. These results, consistent with the data from the literature, strengthen the diagnostic criteria for metastases and illustrate the aspect of bone metastases in breast carcinoma.     

Gender,intoxication and the developing brain: Problematisations of drinking among young adults in Australian alcohol policy

In this article, we draw on recent scholarly work in the poststructuralist analysis of policy to consider how policy itself functions as a key site in the constitution of alcohol ‘problems’, and the political implications of these problematisations. We do this by examining Australian alcohol policy as it relates to young adults (18–24 years old). Our critical analysis focuses on three national alcohol policies (1990, 2001 and 2006) and two Victorian state alcohol policies (2008 and 2013), which together span a 25-year period. We argue that Australian alcohol policies have conspicuously ignored young adult men, despite their ongoing over-representation in the statistical ‘evidence base’ on alcohol-related harm, while increasingly problematising alcohol consumption amongst other population subgroups. We also identify the development of a new problem representation in Australian alcohol policy, that of ‘intoxication’ as the leading cause of alcohol-related harm and rising hospital admissions, and argue that changes in the classification and diagnosis of intoxication may have contributed to its prioritisation and problematisation in alcohol policy at the expense of other forms of harm. Finally, we draw attention to how preliminary and inconclusive research on the purported association between binge drinking and brain development in those under 25 years old has been mobilised prematurely to support calls to increase the legal purchasing age from 18 to 21 years. Our critical analysis of the treatment of these three issues – gender, intoxication, and brain development – is intended to highlight the ways in which policy functions as a key site in the constitution of alcohol ‘problems’.     

Neuroendocrine,epigenetic, and intergenerational effects of general anesthetics

The progress of modern medicine would be impossible without the use of general anesthetics (GAs). Despite advancements in refining anesthesia approaches, the effects of GAs are not fully reversible upon GA withdrawal. Neurocognitive deficiencies attributed to GA exposure may persist in neonates or endure for weeks to years in the elderly. Human studies on the mechanisms of the long-term adverse effects of GAs are needed to improve the safety of general anesthesia but they are hampered not only by ethical limitations specific to human research, but also by a lack of specific biological markers that can be used in human studies to safely and objectively study such effects. The latter can primarily be attributed to an insufficient understanding of the full range of the biological effects induced by GAs and the molecular mechanisms mediating such effects even in rodents, which are far more extensively studied than any other species. Our most recent experimental findings in rodents suggest that GAs may adversely affect many more people than is currently anticipated. Specifically, we have shown that anesthesia with the commonly used GA sevoflurane induces in exposed animals not only neuroendocrine abnormalities (somatic effects), but also epigenetic reprogramming of germ cells (germ cell effects). The latter may pass the neurobehavioral effects of parental sevoflurane exposure to the offspring, who may be affected even at levels of anesthesia that are not harmful to the exposed parents. The large number of patients who require general anesthesia, the even larger number of their future unexposed offspring whose health may be affected, and a growing number of neurodevelopmental disorders of unknown etiology underscore the translational importance of investigating the intergenerational effects of GAs. In this mini review, we discuss emerging experimental findings on neuroendocrine, epigenetic, and intergenerational effects of GAs.     

Transarterial Chemoembolization vs Radioembolization for Neuroendocrine Liver Metastases: A Multi-Institutional Analysis

1. Download : Download high-res image (207KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

     

Self-Mutilation in Neurodegeneration with Brain Iron Accumulation

Neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA) is the term applied to a heterogeneous group of disorders resulting in iron deposition in the basal ganglia. Well-known phenotypic features are progressive regression with extra pyramidal involvement and a variable course. A 10-year-old child born to consanguineous parents presented with progressive generalized opisthotonic dystonia, retrocollis, oromandibular dyskinesias, apraxia for swallowing, optic atrophy and severe self-mutilation of lips. MR imaging showed brain iron accumulation. Other causes of self-mutilation were excluded. Early infantile onset, ophisthotonic dystonia with oromandibular dyskinesias and characteristic MR images are suggestive of NBIA. There is only one case reported in the literature of self-mutilation in this condition.     

Major hepatectomy for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma or colorectal liver metastases. Are we talking about the same story?

IntroductionMajor hepatectomy (MH) is often needed in the curative management of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (IHCC) and colorectal liver metastases (CRLM). While similar outcomes could be expected after MH for IHCC and CRLM, outcomes seem worse after MH for IHCC. A better understanding of such differences might help improving perioperative outcomes but comprehensive analysis are lacking.MethodsAll patients undergoing curative intent MH for IHCC or CRLM from 2003 to 2009 were included from two dedicated multi-institutional datasets. Preoperative management and short-term outcomes after MH were first compared. Independent predictors of postoperative mortality and morbidity were identified.ResultsAmong 827 patients, 333 and 494 patients underwent MH for IHCC and CRLM, respectively. Preoperative portal vein embolization was more frequently performed in the CRLM group (p < 0.001). MH in the IHCC group required more extended resection (p < 0.001). Postoperative mortality and severe morbidity rates were significantly higher in the IHCC group (7.2% vs. 1.2% and 29.7% vs. 11.1%, p < 0.001, respectively). Main causes for mortality were postoperative liver failure and deep surgical site infection. MH for IHCC was an independent risk factor for mortality (p < 0.001) and severe morbidity (p < 0.001). After propensity score matching (212 patients in each group), the aforementioned differences regarding outcomes remained statistically significant.ConclusionThis study suggests that IHCC patients are inherently more at risk after MH as compared to CRLM patients. Considering that postoperative liver failure was the most frequent cause of death, preoperative planning might have been inadequate in the setting of IHCC while more complex/extended resections should be expected.     

EEG power spectral density under Propofol and its association with burst suppression,a marker of cerebral fragility

ObjectiveUnder General Anesthesia (GA), age and Burst Suppression (BS) are associated with cognitive postoperative complications, yet how these parameters are related to per-operative EEG and hypnotic doses is unclear. In this prospective study, we address this question comparing age and BS occurrences with a new score (BP_TIVA) based on Propofol doses, EEG and alpha-band power spectral densities, evaluated for SEF₉₅ = 8–13 Hz.Methods59 patients (55 [34–67] yr, 67% female) undergoing neuroradiology or orthopedic surgery were included. Total IntraVenous Anesthesia was used for Propofol and analgesics infusion. Cerebral activity was monitored from a frontal electrodes montage EEG.ResultsBP_TIVA was inversely correlated with age (Pearson r = −0.78, p < 0.001), and was significantly lower (p < 0.001) when BS occurred during the GA first minutes (induction). Additionally, the age-free BP_TIVA score was better associated with BS at induction than age (AUC = 0.94 versus 0.82, p < 0.05).ConclusionWe designed BP_TIVA score based on hypnotics and EEG. It was correlated with age yet was better associated to BS occurring during GA induction, the latter being a cerebral fragility sign.SignificanceThis advocate for an approach based on evaluating the cerebral physiological age (« brain age ») to predict postoperative cognitive evolution.