The SWI/SNF Complex in Neural Crest Cell Development and Disease.

While the neural crest cell population gives rise to an extraordinary array of derivatives, including elements of the craniofacial skeleton, skin pigmentation, and peripheral nervous system, it is today increasingly recognized that Schwann cell precursors are also multipotent. Two mammalian paralogs of the SWI/SNF (switch/sucrose nonfermentable) chromatin-remodeling complexes, BAF (Brg1-associated factors) and PBAF (polybromo-associated BAF), are critical for neural crest specification during normal mammalian development. There is increasing evidence that pathogenic variants in components of the BAF and PBAF complexes play central roles in the pathogenesis of neural crest-derived tumors. Transgenic mouse models demonstrate a temporal window early in development where pathogenic variants in Smarcb1 result in the formation of aggressive, poorly differentiated tumors, such as rhabdoid tumors. By contrast, later in development, homozygous inactivation of Smarcb1 requires additional pathogenic variants in tumor suppressor genes to drive the development of differentiated adult neoplasms derived from the neural crest, which have a comparatively good prognosis in humans.

Intratumoral injection of schwannoma with attenuated Salmonella typhimurium induces antitumor immunity and controls tumor growth.

Schwannomas are slow-growing benign neoplasms that develop throughout the body causing pain, sensory/motor dysfunction, and death. Because bacterial immunotherapy has been used in the treatment of some malignant neoplasms, we evaluated attenuated Salmonella typhimurium strains as immunotherapies for benign murine schwannomas. Several bacterial strains were tested, including VNP20009, a highly attenuated strain that was previously shown to be safe in human subjects with advanced malignant neoplasms, and a VNP20009 mutant that was altered in motility and other properties that included adherence and invasion of cultured mammalian cells. VNP20009 controlled tumor growth in two murine schwannoma models and induced changes in cytokine and immune effector cell profiles that were consistent with induction of enhanced innate and adaptive host immune responses compared with controls. Intratumoral (i.t.) injection of S. typhimurium led to tumor cell apoptosis, decreased tumor angiogenesis, and lower growth of the injected schwannoma tumors. Invasive VNP20009 was significantly more efficacious than was a noninvasive derivative in controlling the growth of injected tumors. Bacterial treatment apparently induced systemic antitumor immunity in that the growth of rechallenge schwannomas implanted following primary bacterial treatment was also reduced. Checkpoint programmed death-1 (PD-1) blockade induced by systemic administration of anti-PD-1 antibodies controlled tumor growth to the same degree as i.t. injection of S. typhimurium, and together, these two therapies had an additive effect on suppressing schwannoma growth. These experiments represent validation of a bacterial therapy for a benign neoplasm and support development of S. typhimurium VNP20009, potentially in combination with PD-1 inhibition, as a schwannoma immunotherapy.

Electromagnetic field-induced adaptive response in Schwann cells through DNA methylation, histone deacetylation, and oxidative stress.

Schwannomas are benign tumors of the peripheral nervous system arising from the transformation of Schwann cells (SCs). On the whole, these tumors are related to alterations of the neurofibromin type 2 gene, coding for the oncosuppressor merlin, a cytoskeleton-associated protein belonging to the ezrin-radixin-moesin family. However, the underlying mechanisms of schwannoma onset and progression are not fully elucidated, whereas one of the challenges might be the environment. In this light, the exposure to electromagnetic field (EMF), generated by the use of common electrical devices, has been defiantly suggested as the cause of SCs transformation even if the evidence was mostly epidemiologic. Indeed, insubstantial mechanisms have been so far identified to explain SCs oncotransformation. Recently, some in vitro evidence pointed out alterations in proliferation and migration abilities in SCs exposed to EMF (0.1 T, 50 Hz, 10 min). Here, we used the same experimental paradigma to discuss the involvement of putative epigenetic mechanisms in SCs adaptation to EMF and to explain the occurrence of hypoxic alterations after the exposure. Our findings indicate a set of environmental-induced changes in SCs, toward a less-physiological state, which may be pathologically relevant for the SCs differentiation and the schwannoma development.

Systematic Characterization of the Clinical and Pathological Features of Schwannomas Harboring SH3PXD2A::HTRA1 Fusion.

The understanding of schwannoma tumorigenesis has been reshaped by the recent identification of SH3PXD2A::HTRA1 fusion in 10% of intracranial/spinal schwannomas. Nonetheless, pathologic features of schwannomas harboring this fusion, as well as its prevalence outside intracranial/spinal locations, have not been characterized. We screened 215 consecutive schwannomas for their clinicopathologic characteristics and fusion status using reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Among 29 (13.5%) fusion-positive schwannomas, the most prevalent location was peripheral somatic tissue (30.7%, 19/62), followed by spinal/paraspinal (18.4%, 7/38), body cavity/deep structures (10%, 2/20), intracranial (1.3%, 1/75), and viscera (0/13). All 8 cellular, 4 microcystic/reticular, and 3 epithelioid schwannomas were fusion-negative, as were 41/42 nonschwannomatous peripheral nerve sheath tumors. Remarkably, a distinct 'serpentine' palisading pattern, comprising ovoid/plump cells shorter than usual schwannian cells in a hyalinized stroma, was identified in most fusion-positive cases and the schwannomatous component of the only fusion-positive malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor. To validate this finding, 60 additional cases were collected, including 36 with (≥10% arbitrarily) and 24 without appreciable serpentine histology, of which 29 (80.6%) and 2 (8.3%) harbored the fusion, respectively. With percentages of 'serpentine' areas scored, 10% was determined as the optimal practical cut-off to predict the fusion status (sensitivity, 0.950; specificity, 0.943). Fusion positivity was significantly associated with serpentine histology, smaller tumors, younger patients, and peripheral somatic tissue, while multivariate logistic linear regression analysis only identified serpentine histology and location as independent fusion-predicting factors. RNA in situ hybridization successfully detected the fusion junction, highly concordant with RT-PCR results. Gene expression profiling on 18 schwannomas demonstrated segregation largely consistent with fusion status. Fusion-positive cases expressed significantly higher HTRA1 mRNA abundance, perhaps exploitable as a biomarker. In summary, we systematically characterize a series of 60 SH3PXD2A::HTRA1 fusion-positive schwannomas, showing their distinctive morphology and location-specific prevalence for the first time.

Preoperative diffusion tensor imaging: Fiber-trajectory-distribution-based tractography to identify facial nerve in vestibular schwannoma.

PURPOSE: Tractography of the facial nerve based on diffusion MRI is instrumental before surgery for the resection of vestibular schwannoma, but no excellent methods usable for the suppression of motion and image noise have been proposed. The aim of this study was to effectively suppress noise and provide accurate facial nerve reconstruction by extend a fiber trajectory distribution function based on the fourth-order streamline differential equations. METHODS: Preoperative MRI from 33 patients with vestibular schwannoma who underwent surgical resection were utilized in this study. First, T1WI and T2WI were used to obtain mask images and regions of interest. Second, probabilistic tractography was employed to obtain the fibers representing the approximate facial nerve pathway, and these fibers were subsequently translated into orientation information for each voxel. Last, the voxel orientation information and the peaks of the fiber orientation distribution were combined to generate a fiber trajectory distribution function, which was used to parameterize the anatomical information. The parameters were determined by minimizing the cost between the trajectory of fibers and the estimated directions. RESULTS: Qualitative and visual analyses were used to compare facial nerve reconstruction with intraoperative recordings. Compared with other methods (SD_Stream, iFOD1, iFOD2, unscented Kalman filter, parallel transport tractography), the fiber-trajectory-distribution-based tractography provided the most accurate facial nerve reconstructions. CONCLUSION: The fiber-trajectory-distribution-based tractography can effectively suppress the effect of noise. It is a more valuable aid for surgeons before vestibular schwannoma resection, which may ultimately improve the postsurgical patient's outcome.

Quality requirements for MRI simulation in cranial stereotactic radiotherapy: a guideline from the German Taskforce "Imaging in Stereotactic Radiotherapy".

Accurate Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) simulation is fundamental for high-precision stereotactic radiosurgery and fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy, collectively referred to as stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT), to deliver doses of high biological effectiveness to well-defined cranial targets. Multiple MRI hardware related factors as well as scanner configuration and sequence protocol parameters can affect the imaging accuracy and need to be optimized for the special purpose of radiotherapy treatment planning. MRI simulation for SRT is possible for different organizational environments including patient referral for imaging as well as dedicated MRI simulation in the radiotherapy department but require radiotherapy-optimized MRI protocols and defined quality standards to ensure geometrically accurate images that form an impeccable foundation for treatment planning. For this guideline, an interdisciplinary panel including experts from the working group for radiosurgery and stereotactic radiotherapy of the German Society for Radiation Oncology (DEGRO), the working group for physics and technology in stereotactic radiotherapy of the German Society for Medical Physics (DGMP), the German Society of Neurosurgery (DGNC), the German Society of Neuroradiology (DGNR) and the German Chapter of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (DS-ISMRM) have defined minimum MRI quality requirements as well as advanced MRI simulation options for cranial SRT.

Convolutional neural network-based magnetic resonance image differentiation of filum terminale ependymomas from schwannomas.

PURPOSE: Preoperative diagnosis of filum terminale ependymomas (FTEs) versus schwannomas is difficult but essential for surgical planning and prognostic assessment. With the advancement of deep-learning approaches based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs), the aim of this study was to determine whether CNN-based interpretation of magnetic resonance (MR) images of these two tumours could be achieved. METHODS: Contrast-enhanced MRI data from 50 patients with primary FTE and 50 schwannomas in the lumbosacral spinal canal were retrospectively collected and used as training and internal validation datasets. The diagnostic accuracy of MRI was determined by consistency with postoperative histopathological examination. T1-weighted (T1-WI), T2-weighted (T2-WI) and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted (CE-T1) MR images of the sagittal plane containing the tumour mass were selected for analysis. For each sequence, patient MRI data were randomly allocated to 5 groups that further underwent fivefold cross-validation to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of the CNN models. An additional 34 pairs of cases were used as an external test dataset to validate the CNN classifiers. RESULTS: After comparing multiple backbone CNN models, we developed a diagnostic system using Inception-v3. In the external test dataset, the per-examination combined sensitivities were 0.78 (0.71-0.84, 95% CI) based on T1-weighted images, 0.79 (0.72-0.84, 95% CI) for T2-weighted images, 0.88 (0.83-0.92, 95% CI) for CE-T1 images, and 0.88 (0.83-0.92, 95% CI) for all weighted images. The combined specificities were 0.72 based on T1-WI (0.66-0.78, 95% CI), 0.84 (0.78-0.89, 95% CI) based on T2-WI, 0.74 (0.67-0.80, 95% CI) for CE-T1, and 0.81 (0.76-0.86, 95% CI) for all weighted images. After all three MRI modalities were merged, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was calculated, and the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.93, with an accuracy of 0.87. CONCLUSIONS: CNN based MRI analysis has the potential to accurately differentiate ependymomas from schwannomas in the lumbar segment.

Likelihood-of-harm/help of microsurgery compared to radiosurgery in large vestibular schwannoma.

PURPOSE: It has been shown that in large vestibular schwannomas (VS), radiosurgery (SRS) is inferior with respect to tumor control compared to microsurgical resection (SURGERY). However, SURGERY poses a significantly higher risk of facial-function deterioration (FFD). The aim of this study was to illustrate the effectiveness in terms of number-needed-to-treat/operate (NNO), number-needed-to-harm (NNH), and likelihood-of-harm/help (LHH) by comparing both treatment modalities in large VS. METHODS: This was a retrospective, dual-center cohort study. Tumor size was classified by Hannover Classification. Absolute risk reduction and risk increase were used to derive additional estimates of treatment effectiveness, namely NNO and NNH. LHH was then calculated by a quotient of NNH/NNO to illustrate the risk-benefit-ratio of SURGERY. RESULTS: Four hundred and forty-nine patients treated met the inclusion criteria. The incidence of tumor recurrence was significantly higher in SRS (14%), compared to SURGERY (3%) resulting in ARR of 11% and NNO of 10. At the same time, SURGERY was related to a significant risk of FFD resulting in an NNH of 12. Overall, the LHH calculated at 1.20 was favored SURGERY, especially in patients under the age of 40 years (LHH = 2.40), cystic VS (LHH = 4.33), and Hannover T3a (LHH = 1.83) and T3b (LHH = 1.80). CONCLUSIONS: Due to a poorer response of large VS to SRS, SURGERY is superior with respect to tumor control. One tumor recurrence can be prevented, when 10 patients are treated by SURGERY instead of SRS. Thus, LHH portrays the benefit of SURGERY in large VS even when taking raised FFD into account.

Long-term outcomes of stereotactic radiosurgery for intracranial schwannoma in neurofibromatosis type 2: a genetic analysis perspective.

PURPOSE: Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) is intractable because of multiple tumors involving the nervous system and is clinically diverse and genotype-dependent. Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for NF2-associated schwannomas remains controversial. We aimed to investigate the association between radiosurgical outcomes and mutation types in NF2-associated schwannomas. METHODS: This single-institute retrospective study included consecutive NF2 patients with intracranial schwannomas treated with SRS. The patients' types of germline mutations ("Truncating," "Large deletion," "Splice site," "Missense," and "Mosaic") and Halliday's genetic severity scores were examined, and the associations with progression-free rate (PFR) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed. RESULTS: The study enrolled 14 patients with NF2 with 22 associated intracranial schwannomas (median follow-up, 102 months).　The PFRs in the entire cohort were 95% at 5 years and 90% at 10-20 years. The PFRs tended to be worse in patients with truncating mutation exons 2-13 than in those with other mutation types (91% at 5 years and 82% at 10-20 years vs. 100% at 10-20 years, P = 0.140). The OSs were 89% for patients aged 40 years and 74% for those aged 60 years in the entire cohort and significantly lower in genetic severity group 3 than in the other groups (100% vs. 50% for those aged 35 years; P = 0.016). CONCLUSION: SRS achieved excellent PFR for NF2-associated intracranial schwannomas in the mild (group 2A) and moderate (group 2B) groups. SRS necessitates careful consideration for the severe group (group 3), especially in cases with NF2 truncating mutation exons 2-13.

Repeat stereotactic radiosurgery for progressive vestibular schwannomas after primary gamma knife radiosurgery.

PURPOSE: Limited data provides guidance on the management of vestibular schwannomas (VSs) that have progressed despite primary Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS). The present article reports our long-term experience after repeat GKRS for VS with sustained progression after solely primary GKRS management. METHODS: A retrospective review of 1997 patients managed between 1987 and 2023 was conducted. Eighteen patients had sustained tumor progression after primary GKRS and underwent repeat GKRS. The median repeat GKRS margin dose was 11 Gy (IQR: 11-12), the median tumor volume was 2.0 cc (IQR: 1.3-6.3), and the median cochlear dose in patients with preserved hearing was 3.9 Gy (IQR: 3-4.1). The median time between initial and repeat GKRS was 65 months (IQR: 38-118). RESULTS: The median follow-up was 70 months (IQR: 23-101). After repeat GKRS, two patients had further tumor progression at 4 and 21 months and required partial resection of their tumors. The 10-year actuarial tumor control rate after repeat GKRS was 88%. Facial nerve function was preserved in 13 patients who had House-Brackmann grade 1 or 2 function at the time of repeat GKRS. Two patients with serviceable hearing preservation (Gardner-Robertson grade 1 or 2) at repeat GKRS retained that function afterwards. In patients with tinnitus, vestibular dysfunction, and trigeminal neuropathy, symptoms remained stable or improved for 16/16 patients, 12/15 patients, and 10/12 patients, respectively. One patient developed facial twitching in the absence of tumor growth 21 months after repeat GKRS. CONCLUSIONS: Repeat GKRS effectively controlled tumor growth and preserved cranial nerve outcomes in most patients whose VS had sustained progression after initial primary radiosurgery.

Development and application of explainable artificial intelligence using machine learning classification for long-term facial nerve function after vestibular schwannoma surgery.

PURPOSE: Vestibular schwannomas (VSs) represent the most common cerebellopontine angle tumors, posing a challenge in preserving facial nerve (FN) function during surgery. We employed the Extreme Gradient Boosting machine learning classifier to predict long-term FN outcomes (classified as House-Brackmann grades 1-2 for good outcomes and 3-6 for bad outcomes) after VS surgery. METHODS: In a retrospective analysis of 256 patients, comprehensive pre-, intra-, and post-operative factors were examined. We applied the machine learning (ML) classifier Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) for the following binary classification: long-term good and bad FN outcome after VS surgery To enhance the interpretability of our model, we utilized an explainable artificial intelligence approach. RESULTS: Short-term FN function (tau = 0.6) correlated with long-term FN function. The model exhibited an average accuracy of 0.83, a ROC AUC score of 0.91, and Matthew's correlation coefficient score of 0.62. The most influential feature, identified through SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP), was short-term FN function. Conversely, large tumor volume and absence of preoperative auditory brainstem responses were associated with unfavorable outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: We introduce an effective ML model for classifying long-term FN outcomes following VS surgery. Short-term FN function was identified as the key predictor of long-term function. This model's excellent ability to differentiate bad and good outcomes makes it useful for evaluating patients and providing recommendations regarding FN dysfunction management.

Imaging as an early biomarker to predict sensitivity to everolimus for progressive NF2-related vestibular schwannoma.

PURPOSE: NF2-related schwannomatosis (NF2) is characterized by bilateral vestibular schwannomas (VS) often causing hearing and neurologic deficits, with currently no FDA-approved drug treatment. Pre-clinical studies highlighted the potential of mTORC1 inhibition in delaying schwannoma progression. We conducted a prospective open-label, phase II study of everolimus for progressive VS in NF2 patients and investigated imaging as a potential biomarker predicting effects on growth trajectory. METHODS: The trial enrolled 12 NF2 patients with progressive VS. Participants received oral everolimus daily for 52 weeks. Brain imaging was obtained quarterly. As primary endpoint, radiographic response (RR) was defined as ≥ 20% decrease in target VS volume. Secondary endpoints included other tumors RR, hearing outcomes, drug safety and quality of life (QOL). RESULTS: Eight participants completed the trial and four discontinued the drug early due to significant volumetric VS progression. After 52 weeks of treatment, the median annual VS growth rate decreased from 77.2% at baseline to 29.4%. There was no VS RR and 3 of 8 (37.5%) participants had stable disease. Decreased or unchanged VS volume after 3 months of treatment was predictive of stabilization at 12 months. Seven of eight participants had stable hearing during treatment except one with a decline in word recognition score. Ten of twelve participants reported only minimal changes to their QOL scores. CONCLUSIONS: Volumetric imaging at 3 months can serve as an early biomarker to predict long-term sensitivity to everolimus treatment. Everolimus may represent a safe treatment option to decrease the growth of NF2-related VS in patients who have stable hearing and neurological condition. TRN: NCT01345136 (April 29, 2011).

MRI-based radiomics nomogram for distinguishing solitary fibrous tumor from schwannoma in the orbit: a two-center study.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) radiomics for distinguishing solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) from schwannoma in the orbit. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 140 patients from two institutions were retrospectively included. All patients from institution 1 were randomized into a training cohort (n = 69) and a validation cohort (n = 35), and patients from institution 2 were used as an external testing cohort (n = 36). One hundred and six features were extracted from T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging (CET1WI). A radiomics model was built for each sequence using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator logistic regression, and radiomics scores were calculated. A combined model was constructed and displayed as a radiomics nomogram. Two radiologists jointly assessed tumor category based on MRI findings. The performances of the radiomics models and visual assessment were compared via area under the curve (AUC). RESULTS: The performances of the radiomics nomogram combining T2WI and CET1WI radiomics scores were superior to those of the pooled readers in the training (AUC 0.986 vs. 0.807, p < 0.001), validation (AUC 0.989 vs. 0.788, p = 0.009), and the testing (AUC 0.903 vs. 0.792, p = 0.093), although significant difference was not found in the testing cohort. Decision curve analysis demonstrated that the radiomics nomogram had better clinical utility than visual assessment. CONCLUSION: MRI radiomics nomogram can be used for distinguishing between orbital SFT and schwannoma, which may help tumor management by clinicians. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: It is of great importance and challenging for distinguishing solitary fibrous tumor from schwannoma in the orbit. In the present study, an MRI-based radiomics nomogram were developed and independently validated, which could help the discrimination of the two entities. KEY POINTS: • It is challenging to differentiate solitary fibrous tumor from schwannoma in the orbit due to similar clinical and image features. • A radiomics nomogram based on T2-weighted imaging and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging has advantages over radiologists. • Radiomics can provide a non-invasive diagnostic tool for differentiating between the two entities.

Effects of intraoperative low-dose esketamine on postoperative pain after vestibular schwannoma resection: A prospective randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

AIMS: Esketamine may reduce acute postoperative pain in several settings. However, the effects of low-dose esketamine on postoperative pain after vestibular schwannoma (VS) resection with propofol/remifentanil total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA) are unclear. The aim of this study is to observe the effects of intraoperative low-dose esketamine on postoperative pain after vestibular schwannoma resection. METHODS: This single-centre, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial included 90 adults undergoing VS resection via the retrosigmoid approach with TIVA. The patients were randomly allocated to two groups: esketamine or control (n = 45 in each group). Patients received low-dose esketamine (0.2 mg/kg) or a similar volume of normal saline after dural closure. The primary outcome was the pain score during movement (gentle head movement) at 24 h postoperatively. Secondary outcomes included recovery time, bispectral index (BIS) values and haemodynamic profiles during the first 30 min after esketamine administration, and adverse effects. RESULTS: Low-dose esketamine did not reduce pain scores at rest (P > .05) or with movement (P > .05) within the first 24 h after surgery. Esketamine moderately increased BIS values for at least 30 min after administration (P < .0001) but did not affect heart rate (P = .992) or mean arterial blood pressure (P = .994). Esketamine prolonged extubation time (P = .042, 95% confidence interval: 0.08 to 4.42) and decreased the effect-site concentration of remifentanil at extubation (P = .001, 95% confidence interval: -0.53 to -0.15) but did not affect the time to resumption of spatial orientation. Postoperative nausea and vomiting rates did not differ between groups, and no hallucinations or excessive sedation was observed. CONCLUSION: Intraoperative low-dose esketamine did not significantly reduce acute pain after VS resection with propofol/remifentanil TIVA. However, BIS values increased for at least 30 min after esketamine administration.

Image features and clinical analysis of retroperitoneal pelvic schwannoma: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Schwannomas are benign usually encapsulated nerve sheath tumors derived from the Schwann cells, and affecting single or multiple nerves. The tumors commonly arise from the cranial nerves as acoustic neurinomas but they are extremely rare in the pelvis and the retroperitoneal area. Retroperitoneal pelvic schwannomas often present with non-specific symptoms leading to misdiagnosis and prolonged morbidity. CASE PRESENTATION: We report the case of a 59-year-old woman presenting with a feeling of heaviness in the lower abdomen who was found to have a retroperitoneal pelvic schwannoma originating from the right femoral nerve. She had a history of two resections of peripheral schwannomas at four different sites of limbs. After conducting magnetic resonance imaging, this pelvic schwannoma was misdiagnosed as a gynecological malignancy. The tumor was successfully removed by laparoscopic surgery. Pathological analysis of the mass revealed a benign schwannoma of the femoral nerve sheath with demonstrating strong, diffuse positivity for S-100 protein. CONCLUSIONS: Although retroperitoneal pelvic schwannoma is rare, it should be considered in the differential diagnosis of pelvic masses, especially in patients with a history of neurogenic mass or the presence of neurogenic mass elsewhere.

Malignant melanotic schwannoma of the cervical spinal cord: a case report.

Spinal cord malignant melanotic schwannoma (MMNST) is a rare central nervous system tumor that originates from the spinal cord or spinal myelin sheath cells and can produce melanin. This type of tumor is usually highly aggressive and malignant, with a poor prognosis. The clinical manifestations of spinal cord MMNST are mainly pain, paresthesia, muscle weakness, muscle atrophy, etc., and symptoms of spinal cord compression, such as intestinal and bladder dysfunction, paraplegia, etc. Early detection of tumor lesions can facilitate tumor removal, improve patients' quality of life, and prolong patients' survival. In this case report, a 27-year-old young woman was diagnosed with MMNST of the cervical spinal cord due to weakness of her limbs in our hospital, and underwent surgical resection. The patient's limbs returned to normal after surgery. It is worth mentioning that the patient visited our hospital 7 months ago for "right upper limb pain for 3 days" and was diagnosed with a cervical spine space-occupying lesion at the same position this time, but the pathology report was "hemosiderosis". The patient's limbs returned to normal after surgery. It is worth mentioning that the patient visited our hospital 7 months ago for "right upper limb pain for 3 days" and was diagnosed with a cervical spine space-occupying lesion at the same position this time, but the pathology report was "hemosiderosis". This case report aims to raise awareness of the problem of spinal cord MMNST and contribute to greater knowledge of this rare tumor. This case report aims to raise awareness of the problem of spinal cord MMNST and contribute to greater knowledge of this rare tumor.

Genome-wide association analysis identifies a susceptibility locus for sporadic vestibular schwannoma at 9p21.

Vestibular schwannomas are benign nerve sheath tumours that arise on the vestibulocochlear nerves. Vestibular schwannomas are known to occur in the context of tumour predisposition syndromes NF2-related and LZTR1-related schwannomatosis. However, the majority of vestibular schwannomas present sporadically without identification of germline pathogenic variants. To identify novel genetic associations with risk of vestibular schwannoma development, we conducted a genome-wide association study in a cohort of 911 sporadic vestibular schwannoma cases collated from the neurofibromatosis type 2 genetic testing service in the north-west of England, UK and 5500 control samples from the UK Biobank resource. One risk locus reached genome-wide significance in our association analysis (9p21.3, rs1556516, P = 1.47 × 10-13, odds ratio = 0.67, allele frequency = 0.52). 9p21.3 is a genome-wide association study association hotspot, and a number of genes are localized to this region, notably CDKN2B-AS1 and CDKN2A/B, also referred to as the INK4 locus. Dysregulation of gene products within the INK4 locus have been associated with multiple pathologies and the genes in this region have been observed to directly impact the expression of one another. Recurrent associations of the INK4 locus with components of well-described oncogenic pathways provides compelling evidence that the 9p21.3 region is truly associated with risk of vestibular schwannoma tumorigenesis.

Inhibition of YAP/TAZ-driven TEAD activity prevents growth of NF2-null schwannoma and meningioma.

Schwannoma tumours typically arise on the eighth cranial nerve and are mostly caused by loss of the tumour suppressor Merlin (NF2). There are no approved chemotherapies for these tumours and the surgical removal of the tumour carries a high risk of damage to the eighth or other close cranial nerve tissue. New treatments for schwannoma and other NF2-null tumours such as meningioma are urgently required. Using a combination of human primary tumour cells and mouse models of schwannoma, we have examined the role of the Hippo signalling pathway in driving tumour cell growth. Using both genetic ablation of the Hippo effectors YAP and TAZ as well as novel TEAD palmitoylation inhibitors, we show that Hippo signalling may be successfully targeted in vitro and in vivo to both block and, remarkably, regress schwannoma tumour growth. In particular, successful use of TEAD palmitoylation inhibitors in a preclinical mouse model of schwannoma points to their potential future clinical use. We also identify the cancer stem cell marker aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A1 (ALDH1A1) as a Hippo signalling target, driven by the TAZ protein in human and mouse NF2-null schwannoma cells, as well as in NF2-null meningioma cells, and examine the potential future role of this new target in halting schwannoma and meningioma tumour growth.

Accuracy of vestibular schwannoma segmentation using deep learning models - a systematic review & meta-analysis.

Vestibular Schwannoma (VS) is a rare tumor with varied incidence rates, predominantly affecting the 60-69 age group. In the era of artificial intelligence (AI), deep learning (DL) algorithms show promise in automating diagnosis. However, a knowledge gap exists in the automated segmentation of VS using DL. To address this gap, this meta-analysis aims to provide insights into the current state of DL algorithms applied to MR images of VS. METHODOLOGY: Following 2020 PRISMA guidelines, a search across four databases was conducted. Inclusion criteria focused on articles using DL for VS MR image segmentation. The primary metric was the Dice score, supplemented by relative volume error (RVE) and average symmetric surface distance (ASSD). RESULTS: The search process identified 752 articles, leading to 11 studies for meta-analysis. A QUADAS- 2 analysis revealed varying biases. The overall Dice score for 56 models was 0.89 (CI: 0.88-0.90), with high heterogeneity (I2 = 95.9%). Subgroup analyses based on DL architecture, MRI inputs, and testing set sizes revealed performance variations. 2.5D DL networks demonstrated comparable efficacy to 3D networks. Imaging input analyses highlighted the superiority of contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging and mixed MRI inputs. DISCUSSION: This study fills a gap in systematic review in the automated segmentation of VS using DL techniques. Despite promising results, limitations include publication bias and high heterogeneity. Future research should focus on standardized designs, larger testing sets, and addressing biases for more reliable results. DL have promising efficacy in VS diagnosis, however further validation and standardization is needed. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, this meta-analysis provides comprehensive review into the current landscape of automated VS segmentation using DL. The high Dice score indicates promising agreement in segmentation, yet challenges like bias and heterogeneity must be addressed in the future research.

Defining tumor growth in vestibular schwannomas: a volumetric inter-observer variability study in contrast-enhanced T1-weighted MRI.

PURPOSE: For patients with vestibular schwannomas (VS), a conservative observational approach is increasingly used. Therefore, the need for accurate and reliable volumetric tumor monitoring is important. Currently, a volumetric cutoff of 20% increase in tumor volume is widely used to define tumor growth in VS. The study investigates the tumor volume dependency on the limits of agreement (LoA) for volumetric measurements of VS by means of an inter-observer study. METHODS: This retrospective study included 100 VS patients who underwent contrast-enhanced T1-weighted MRI. Five observers volumetrically annotated the images. Observer agreement and reliability was measured using the LoA, estimated using the limits of agreement with the mean (LOAM) method, and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). RESULTS: The 100 patients had a median average tumor volume of 903 mm3 (IQR: 193-3101). Patients were divided into four volumetric size categories based on tumor volume quartile. The smallest tumor volume quartile showed a LOAM relative to the mean of 26.8% (95% CI: 23.7-33.6), whereas for the largest tumor volume quartile this figure was found to be 7.3% (95% CI: 6.5-9.7) and when excluding peritumoral cysts: 4.8% (95% CI: 4.2-6.2). CONCLUSION: Agreement limits within volumetric annotation of VS are affected by tumor volume, since the LoA improves with increasing tumor volume. As a result, for tumors larger than 200 mm3, growth can reliably be detected at an earlier stage, compared to the currently widely used cutoff of 20%. However, for very small tumors, growth should be assessed with higher agreement limits than previously thought.