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Background/Objectives: Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumor in children. In recent decades, the therapeutic landscape has undergone significant changes, with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) emerging as a promising treatment for recurrent cases. Our study provides a comprehensive analysis of the long-term efficacy and safety of SRS in recurrent medulloblastomas across both pediatric and adult patients at a single institution. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical and radiological records of patients who underwent CyberKnife SRS for recurrent cranial medulloblastomas at our institution between 1998 and 2023. Follow-up data were available for 15 medulloblastomas in 10 patients. The cohort comprised eight pediatric patients (ages 3–18) and two adult patients (ages 19–75). The median age at the time of SRS was 13 years, the median tumor volume accounted for 1.9 cc, the median biologically equivalent dose (BED) was 126 Gy, and the single-fraction equivalent dose (SFED) was 18 Gy. The SRS was administered at 75% of the median isodose line. Results: Following a median follow-up of 39 months (range: 6–78), 53.3% of the medulloblastomas progressed, 13.3% regressed, and 33.3% remained stable. The 3-year local tumor control (LTC) rate for all medulloblastomas was 65%, with lower rates observed in the adult cohort (50%) and higher rates in pediatric patients (67%). The 3-year overall survival (OS) rate was 70%, with significantly higher rates in pediatric patients (75%) compared to adult patients (50%). The 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) rate was 58.3%, with higher rates in pediatric patients (60%) compared to adult patients (50%). Two pediatric patients developed radiation-induced edema, while two adult patients experienced radiation necrosis at the latest follow-up, with both adult patients passing away. Conclusions: Our study provides a complex perspective on the efficacy and safety of CyberKnife SRS in treating recurrent cranial medulloblastomas across pediatric and adult populations. The rarity of adverse radiation events (AREs) underscores the safety profile of SRS, reinforcing its role in enhancing treatment outcomes. The intricacies of symptomatic outcomes, intertwined with factors such as age, tumor location, and prior surgeries, emphasize the need for personalized treatment approaches. Our findings underscore the imperative for ongoing research and the development of more refined treatment strategies for recurrent medulloblastomas. Given the observed disparities in treatment outcomes, a more meticulous tailoring of treatment approaches becomes crucial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) and posterior spinal fusion (PSF) play pivotal roles in restoring lumbar lordosis in spinal surgery. There is an ongoing debate between combined single-position surgery and traditional prone-position PSF for optimizing segmental lumbar lordosis. Methods: This retrospective study analyzed 59 patients who underwent ALIF in the supine position followed by PSF in the prone position at a single institution. Cobb angles were measured preoperatively, post-ALIF, and post-PSF using X-ray imaging. One-way repeated measures ANOVA and post-hoc analyses with Bonferroni adjustment were employed to compare mean Cobb angles at different time points. Cohen's d effect sizes were calculated to assess the magnitude of changes. Sample size calculations were performed to ensure statistical power. Results: The mean segmental Cobb angle significantly increased from preoperative (32.2 ± 13.8 degrees) to post-ALIF (42.2 ± 14.3 degrees, Cohen's d: −0.71, p < 0.0001) and post-PSF (43.6 ± 14.6 degrees, Cohen's d: −0.80, p < 0.0001). There was no significant difference between Cobb angles after ALIF and after PSF (Cohen's d: −0.10, p = 0.14). The findings remained consistent when Cobb angles were analyzed separately for single-screw and double-screw ALIF constructs. Conclusions: Both supine ALIF and prone PSF significantly increased segmental lumbar lordosis compared to preoperative measurements. The negligible difference between post-ALIF and post-PSF lordosis suggests that supine ALIF followed by prone PSF can be an effective approach, providing flexibility in surgical positioning without compromising lordosis improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Hemangiopericytomas are infrequent vascular tumors originating from Zimmermann pericytes. The conventional treatment involves gross total resection, followed by adjuvant radiotherapy. Nevertheless, their tendency to infiltrate dural sinuses, high vascularity, and anatomic complexity pose challenges for radical resection, leading to a significant risk of recurrence. Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) has emerged as a promising adjuvant therapy to address these challenges. Our study provides the largest single-institutional retrospective, aiming to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of SRS as a treatment modality for residual, recurrent, and metastatic hemangiopericytomas., Methods: From 1998 to 2023, 27 patients with 101 tumors underwent CyberKnife SRS at Stanford University Medical Center. The median age was 51 years at the time of treatment. The median follow-up period from SRS was 103 months (range: 6-250). All patients underwent upfront surgical resection. The median tumor volume was 1.5 cc. The median single-fraction equivalent dose was 19 Gy. The SRS was administered at the 76% of the median isodose line (range: 64-89)., Results: Of the 101 treated tumors, 24 (23.8%) progressed with a median time to recurrence of 30 months. At 10 years, the rates of local tumor control (LTC), overall survival (OS), and progression-free survival (PFS) were 74.3%, 80.8%, and 67%, respectively. In patients with metastatic lesions, the LTC rates were significantly greater when compared with those with residual or recurrent tumors. There was no significant difference between patients with residual, recurrent, and metastatic hemangiopericytomas in OS and PFS. Notably, no cases of radiation-induced adverse events were detected., Conclusion: SRS leads to excellent LTC, PFS, and OS at 10 years with negligible risk for adverse events. Therefore, it is an effective and safe management modality for patients with residual, recurrent, and metastatic hemangiopericytomas., (Copyright © Congress of Neurological Surgeons 2024. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Leiomyosarcoma (LMS) is a rare, aggressive soft-tissue sarcoma that seldom spreads to the bone. The spine can be either the site of LMS osseous metastases or the primary tumor site. The optimal treatment option for spinal LMS is still unclear. The authors present a cohort of patients with spinal LMS treated with either upfront surgery or upfront CyberKnife stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS)., Methods: The authors retrospectively studied the clinical and radiological outcomes of 17 patients with spinal LMS treated at their institution between 2004 and 2020. Either surgery or SRS was used as the upfront treatment. The clinical and radiological outcomes were assessed. A systematic review of the literature was also conducted., Results: Of the 17 patients (20 spinal lesions), 12 (70.6%) were female. The median patient age was 61 years (range 41-80 years). Ten patients had upfront surgery for their spinal lesions, and 7 had upfront CyberKnife radiosurgery. The median follow-up was 11 months (range 0.3-130 months). The median overall survival (OS) for the entire cohort was 13 months (range 0.3-97 months). In subgroup analysis, the median OS was lower for the surgical group (13 months, range 0.3-50 months), while the median OS for the SRS group was 15 months (range 5-97 months) (p = 0.5). Forty percent (n = 4) of those treated with surgery presented with local recurrence at a median of 6.7 months (range 0.3-36 months), while only 14% (n = 1) of those treated with CyberKnife radiosurgery had local recurrence after 5 months. Local tumor control (LTC) rates at the 6-, 12-, and 18-month follow-ups were 72%, 58%, and 43%, respectively, for the SRS group and 40%, 30%, and 20%, respectively, for the surgery group (p < 0.05). The literature review included 35 papers with 70 patients harboring spinal LMS; only 2 patients were treated with SRS. The literature review confirms the clinical and radiological outcomes of the surgical group, while data on SRS are anecdotal., Conclusions: The authors present the largest series in the literature of spinal LMS and the first on SRS for spinal LMS. This study shows that LTC is statistically significantly better in patients receiving upfront SRS instead of surgery. The OS does not appear different between the two groups.