Brain cancer surgery in the language areas of Mandarin-Cantonese bilinguals.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to study methods for protecting the language areas during tumor surgery in Mandarin-Cantonese bilinguals (MCBs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eleven MCB patients were positioned for awake surgery with the purpose of preserving both of their language proficiencies. All the exposed cortices were electrically stimulated 1 cm x 1 cm with anelectrode, and all the positive sites of stimulation were recorded for analyses, the tumor resection point was limited by 1cm distant from the language areas identified by electrical stimulation. RESULTS: All patients had at least one language area identified; a total of 154 points were stimulated, with 22 positive points (14.3%), including five specific language areas, which all resulted in simple anomiain either language when stimulated. Among these, three were specific to Mandarin (1.9%), whereas two were specific to Cantonese (1.3%). CONCLUSIONS: In proficient MBCs, areas specific to each language exist. Thus, performing intraoperative bilingual tasks to locate these language areas is necessary in order to preserve language function.