Calcified spinal meningiomas: a systematic review of clinical characteristics, treatment strategies, and outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Calcified meningiomas involving the spine are rare but can pose significant surgical challenges. We systematically reviewed the literature on calcified spinal meningiomas. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, Web-of-Science, and Scopus databases were searched to include studies reporting clinical data of patients with calcified spinal meningioma. Included articles were analyzed for symptoms, imaging, spine level of the tumor, tumor location relative to the spinal cord, calcification status, treatment regimen, recurrence, progression-free survival, and outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 35 articles encompassing 94 patients were included. Most patients were female (90.4%), presenting with lower extremity weakness (44%) and/or lower extremity paresthesia (38.1%). Most calcified spinal meningiomas occurred in the thoracic spine (82%) and on the dorsal (33.3%) or ventral (27.2%) side relative to the spinal cord. Most tumors were intradural (87.2%). Histologically, most calcified spinal meningiomas were WHO grade I (97.4%) and psammomatous (50.7%). Most tumors demonstrated macroscopic calcification (48.9%). Most patients underwent gross total resection (91.5%) through a posterior approach (100%). Two patients (2.1%) received adjunctive radiotherapy. The most common treatment related complication was CSF leakage. Post-operatively, most patients demonstrated symptomatic improvement (75.5%) and 2 (2.1%) had local tumor recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Calcified spinal meningiomas are uncommon but benign entities. These neoplasms tend to adhere to surrounding tissues and nerves and, thus, can be surgically challenging to remove. In most patients, safe gross total resection remains the standard of care, but accurate surgical planning is necessary to reduce the risks of postoperative complications.

The Role of Pharmacotherapy in Treatment of Meningioma: A Systematic Review.

The safety and efficacy of various pharmacotherapeutic regimens on refractory meningiomas have been the focus of investigations. We present a comprehensive review of the previous efforts and the current state of ongoing clinical trials. A PRISMA-compliant review of the MEDLINE and ClinicalTrial.gov databases of the National Library of Medicine were performed. The primary outcomes of interest for included articles were radiographic response, overall survival, progression-free survival, six-month progression-free survival, and adverse events. Overall, 34 completed trials and 27 ongoing clinical trials were eligible. Six-month progression-free survival was reported in 6-100% of patients in the completed studies. Hematological disorders were the most common adverse events. Of the ongoing clinical trials identified, nine studies are phase I clinical trials, eleven are phase II trials, two are phase I and II trials, one is phase II and III, and two trials do not have a designated phase. Currently, there is no effective chemotherapy for refractory or recurrent meningiomas. Several promising targeted agents have been developed and are currently being investigated in the hope of identifying novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of this pathology.

Recurrent liponeurocytoma: A case report and systematic review of the literature.

Background: Liponeurocytomas are rare neurocytic neoplasms that most often arise in the posterior fossa and affect individuals in the third and fifth decades of life. Most reported cases of this unique tumor in the literature have described a favorable clinical prognosis without recurrence. However, increasing reports of recurrent cases prompted the World Health Organization, in 2016, to recategorize the tumor from Grade I to the less favorable Grade II classification. We conducted a systematic review to identify recurrent cases of this unique tumor and to summarize differences between the primary and recurrent cases of liponeurocytoma. Methods: A systematic review exploring recurrent liponeurocytoma cases was conducted by searching the PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus databases for articles in English. Abstracts from articles were read and selected for full-text review according to a priori criteria. Relevant full-text articles were analyzed for symptoms, imaging, location, histological, pathological, treatment, and recurrence-free time between the primary and recurrent cases. Results: Of 4392 articles, 15 articles accounting for 18 patients were included (level of evidence: IV) in the study. Recurrence-free time decreased from an average of 82 months between the primary tumor resection to first recurrence to 31.3 months between the first and second recurrence. Recurrent tumors demonstrated increased pleomorphic neural cells, necrosis, vascular proliferation, and MIB-1 index when compared to the primary tumor. Several cases also demonstrated decreased lipidizing components when compared to the primary tumor, further indicating increased dedifferentiation. The primary treatment for this tumor was surgical resection with occasional adjunctive radiotherapy. Conclusion: Recurrent cases of liponeurocytoma have features of increased malignant proliferation compared to the primary cases. The standard treatment for these primary and recurrent tumors is gross total resection. The role of adjunctive radiotherapy remains a matter of debate.

Trends and Distribution of Political Contributions from Ophthalmologists in the United States.

PURPOSE: To describe the magnitude, party affiliation, temporal trend, and geographic distribution of political contributions made by ophthalmologists in the United States. METHODS: This cross-sectional study used public finance data from the Federal Election Commission website to identify political donations from ophthalmologists between 2003-2019. Contributions were filtered for occupation lines matching either "ophthalmologist," or "eye surgeon," and each contribution was cross-referenced to catalogue donations as "Republican," "Democratic," or "Independent." RESULTS: From 2003-2019, a total of 31,855 political donations were made by self-identified ophthalmologists, totaling $11,603,672. Of all dollars, 10.7%, 19.5%, and 69.8% went to Democratic, Republican, and Independent committees, respectively. Political contributions directed towards the American Academy of Ophthalmology Political Action Committee (OPHTHPAC) constituted the majority (59.8%) of overall contributions. From 2003 to 2019, the total number of unique contributions increased significantly from 1135 to 3208 (? = 0.63; P < .01). In dollars, this translated to an increase from $482,300 donated in 2003 to $640,695 donated in 2019, although this trend was non-significant (? = 0.18; P = .48). Conversely, the average amount of each contribution significantly declined from $425 to $203 (? = -0.35; P < .001). As expected, larger states such as California, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, and New York had the highest contribution dollars, in that order. CONCLUSIONS: Political contributions from ophthalmologists have significantly risen since 2003, however there remain opportunities for growth in engagement with OPHTHPAC. Future analysis of how this involvement translates to representative health policy is warranted.

Traumatic brain injury and subsequent brain tumor development: a systematic review of the literature.

The role of prior head trauma in stimulating brain tumor development has been previously described in the literature but continues to be debated. The goal of this study was to conduct a systematic review interrogating the contemporary literature to delineate any possible relationship between traumatic brain injury and brain tumor development. A systematic review exploring development of post-TBI brain tumor was conducted by searching electronic databases. Abstracts from articles were read and selected for full-text review according to criteria previously established in the scientific literature. Relevant full-text articles were divided into case reports and single-arm studies and epidemiological studies. Of 1070 resultant articles, 18 case reports and single-arm studies (level of evidence of IV and V) with 45 patients were included. The most common cause of TBI was traffic accidents. The average period between TBI and subsequent tumor diagnosis was 12.8 years. Meningiomas represented the largest share of tumors, followed by gliomas. Most post-TBI brain tumors developed in the frontal and temporal lobes. Fifteen epidemiological studies were also interrogated from a variety of countries (level of evidence of III). Case-control studies were more common than cohort studies. There were 9 of 15 studies proposed a possible relationship between history of head trauma and development of brain tumor. The relationship between head trauma and neoplastic growth continues to be heavily debated. There are certainly case reports and epidemiological studies in the literature that suggest a correlational relationship between the two. However, there is no concrete evidence of a causal relationship between TBI and brain tumors. More research is needed to definitively delineate the extent of any such relationship.

Simultaneous presentation of orbital mantle cell lymphoma and endocrine mucin-producing sweat gland carcinoma.

Mantle cell lymphoma is a rare malignancy to present in the orbit, comprising only 1-5% adnexal lymphomas. Endocrine mucin-producing sweat gland carcinoma (EMPSGC) is an equally uncommon adnexal tumor of sweat gland origin that may present on the eyelid. Herein we present a case of a 77-year old man with no previous cancer history who presented with painless progressive left globe proptosis and an enlarging left upper lid margin lesion, ultimately determined upon biopsy to be simultaneous orbital mantle cell lymphoma with systemic involvement and isolated eyelid EMPSGC. The pathogenesis, clinical manifestation, and management for each rare disease entity are reviewed and concept of collision tumors is discussed.