• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.670-675
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• 2015

Medical imaging is one of the most powerful tools for gaining information about internal organs and tissues. It is a challenging task to develop sophisticated image analysis methods in order to improve the accuracy of diagnosis. The objective of this paper is to develop a Computer Aided Diagnostics (CAD) scheme for Brain Tumour detection from Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI) using active contour models and to investigate with several approaches for improving CAD performances. The problem in clinical medicine is the automatic detection of brain Tumours with maximum accuracy and in less time. This work involves the following steps: i) Segmentation performed by Fuzzy Clustering with Level Set Method (FCMLSM) and performance is compared with snake models based on Balloon force and Gradient Vector Force (GVF), Distance Regularized Level Set Method (DRLSE). ii) Feature extraction done by Shape and Texture based features. iii) Brain Tumour detection performed by various tree classifiers. Based on investigation FCMLSM is well suited segmentation method and Random Forest is the most optimum classifier for this problem. This method gives accuracy of 97% and with minimum classification error. The time taken to detect Tumour is approximately 2 mins for an examination (30 slices).

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.61 no.3
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• pp.302-311
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• 2018

Atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumours (ATRTs) are the most common malignant central nervous system tumours in children ${\leq}1year$ of age and represent approximately 1-2% of all pediatric brain tumours. ATRT is a primarily monogenic disease characterized by the bi-allelic loss of the SMARCB1 gene, which encodes the hSNF5 subunit of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex. Though conventional dose chemotherapy is not effective in most ATRT patients, high dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell transplant, radiotherapy and/or intrathecal chemotherapy all show significant potential to improve patient survival. Recent epigenetic and transcriptional studies highlight three subgroups of ATRT, each with distinct clinical and molecular characteristics with corresponding therapeutic sensitivities, including epigenetic targeting, and inhibition of tyrosine kinases or growth/lineage specific pathways.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.61 no.3
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• pp.343-351
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• 2018

Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is a deadly paediatric brain cancer. Transient response to radiation, ineffective chemotherapeutic agents and aggressive biology result in rapid progression of symptoms and a dismal prognosis. Increased availability of tumour tissue has enabled the identification of histone gene aberrations, genetic driver mutations and methylation changes, which have resulted in molecular and phenotypic subgrouping. However, many of the underlying mechanisms of DIPG oncogenesis remain unexplained. It is hoped that more representative in vitro and preclinical models-using both xenografted material and genetically engineered mice-will enable the development of novel chemotherapeutic agents and strategies for targeted drug delivery. This review provides a clinical overview of DIPG, the barriers to progress in developing effective treatment, updates on drug development and preclinical models, and an introduction to new technologies aimed at enhancing drug delivery.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.61 no.3
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• pp.402-406
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• 2018

In contrast to many of the malignant tumors that occur in the central nervous system in adults, the management, responses to therapy, and future perspectives of children with malignant lesions of the brain hold considerable promise. Within the past 5 years, remarkable progress has been made with our understanding of the basic biology of the molecular genetics of several pediatric malignant brain tumors including medulloblastoma, ependymoma, atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumour, and high grade glioma/diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma. The recent literature in pediatric neuro-oncology was reviewed, and a summary of the major findings are presented. Meaningful sub-classifications of these tumors have arisen, placing children into discrete categories of disease with requirements for targeted therapy. While the mainstay of therapy these past 30 years has been a combination of central nervous system irradiation and conventional chemotherapy, now with the advent of high resolution genetic mapping, targeted therapies have emerged, and less emphasis is being placed on craniospinal irradiation. In this article, the present and future perspective of pediatric brain malignancy are reviewed in detail. The progress that has been made offers significant hope for the future for patients with these tumours.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.10
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• pp.5281-5286
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• 2012

Purpose: Receptor 7 (CXCR7) has recently been characterized as a novel receptor for CXCL12/SDF-1 (stromal cell derived factor-1). Given the demonstrated importance of CXCL12/SDF-1 in angiogenesis and tumour metastasis, we hypothesized that CXCR7 may also play a role in tumour pathogenesis. Located in the limited space of the intracranial cavity, any brain tumours can be inherently serious and life-threatening. However, the expression of CXCR7 in pituitary adenoma, neurilemmoma or hemangioblastoma remains to be elucidated. Therefore, we aimed to determine the potential contribution of CXCR7 in the development of brain tumours. Methods: In this study we examined and quantified the mRNA expression of CXCR7 in four different human brain tumours - 27 patients with neurilemmoma (8 patients), pituitary adenoma (7 patients), hemangioblastoma (6 patients), or meningioma (6 patients) undergoing surgical resection in the West China Hospital of Sichuan University. There were 15 females and 12 males aged from 28 to 70 years old. Total RNA was isolated and mRNA was measured by quantitative real-time RT-PCR. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed using SPSS 11.0 statistical software to compare the mRNA levels of CXCR7 among four groups. Results: We found that CXCR7 mRNA was detected in all tumour samples. Quantitative results showed that the levels of CXCR7 mRNA in brain tissues from patients with neurilemmoma or meningioma were significantly higher than those with pituitary adenoma or hemangioblastoma. Conclusions: The results suggest that the CXCR7 may play a role in progression, metastasis and angiogenesis of brain tumours.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.65 no.5
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• pp.751-757
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• 2022

Objective : Tumours of the brain are a rare occurrence accounting for approximately 2% of all neoplasms in adults. Few studies have been done in Nigeria on the profile of brain tumours. The aim of this study is to determine the profile of brain tumours in general and determine the change in Kanofsky Performance Score (KPS) after treatment. Methods : This is a prospective hospital-based study in Kaduna. All consecutive patients over 18 years of age with diagnosis of brain tumours from January 2016 to December 2019 were included in the study. Demographic and clinical data was collected using a proforma during the study. Patients who received treatment were followed up for 12 months. The primary outcome data was the difference in the quality of life as measured by KPS at the point of first contact and at 1-month after treatment and at 12-month follow up. Data obtained was analysed with SPSS version 25.0 for Windows. Descriptive statistics was done to determine the profile. Paired t-test at 95% confidence interval was done to check for significant correlation between the mean KPS. Results : A total of 39 consecutive patients were included in the study. There was a slight male preponderance with a M : F of 1.17 : 1. Meningioma and metastasis were more common in females while gliomas and pituitary tumours were more common in males. The mean age of patients was 49.8 years and standard deviation of 11.8 years. Pituitary tumours were the most common tumours. The most common location of the tumour was frontal lobe followed by the pituitary gland. The mean duration of symptoms before neurosurgical consultation was 38 weeks. The most common presenting symptoms of patient with brain tumour was headache. The quality of life improve compare to the baseline in 81% of patient at discharge and at 1 year follow up. The overall mortality rate was 25.6%. Conclusion : The most common brain tumour in our study is pituitary tumour. Most patients present late. The most common presenting symptoms is headache. There is significant improvement in the KPS of patients following treatment. The overall mortality rate at 1-year post treatment is 25.6%.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.63 no.1
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• pp.119-135
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• 2020

Objective : To investigate the epidemiology of newly-diagnosed, histologically-confirmed (NDHC) central nervous system (CNS) tumours and its changes over a 21-year period in a regional hospital in Hong Kong. Methods : This is a single-institute retrospective descriptive study of patients undergoing surgery for CNS tumours in a regional hospital of Hong Kong in the period from January 1996 to December 2016. The histological definition of CNS tumours was according to the World Health Organization classification, while the site definition for case ascertainment of CNS tumours was as set out by the Central Brain Tumour Registry of the United States. Patients of any age, who had NDHC CNS tumours, either primary or secondary, were included. The following parameters of the patients were retrieved : age at diagnosis, gender, tumour location, and histological diagnosis. Population data were obtained from sources provided by the Government of Hong Kong. The incident rate, estimated by the annual number of cases per 100000 population, for each histology grouping was calculated. Statistical analyses, both including and excluding brain metastases, were performed. Statistical analysis was performed with Microsoft Excel, 2016 (Microsoft, Redmond, WA, USA). Results : Among the 2134 cases of NDHC CNS tumours, there were 1936 cases of intracranial tumours and 198 cases of spinal tumours. The annual number of cases per 100000 population of combined primary intracranial and spinal CNS tumours was 3.6 in 1996, and 11.1 in 2016. Comparing the 5-year average annual number of cases per 100000 population of primary CNS tumours from the period 1996-2000 to 2011-2015, there was an 88% increase, which represent an increase in the absolute number of cases by 4.52 cases/100000 population. This increase was mainly contributed by benign histologies. In the aforementioned periods, meningiomas increased by 1.45 cases/100000 population; schwannomas by 1.05 cases/100000 population, and pituitary adenomas by 0.91 cases/100000 population. While gliomas had a fluctuating 5-year average annual number of cases per 100000 population, it only had an absolute increase of 0.51 cases/100000 population between the 2 periods, which was mainly accounted for by the change in glioblastomas. Conclusion : This retrospective study of CNS tumour epidemiology revealed increasing trends in the incidences of several common CNS tumour histologies in Hong Kong, which agrees with the findings in large-scale studies in Korea and the United States. It is important for different geographic locations to establish their own CNS tumour registry with well-defined and structured data collection and analysis system to meet the international standards.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.325-328
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• 2012

Objective: Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are important enzymes that are involved in detoxification of environmental carcinogens. Molecular epidemiological studies have been conducted to investigate the association between GSTM1 and GSTT1 homozygous deletion polymorphisms and brain tumours but results have been conflicting. The aim of this study was to clarify this problem using a meta-analysis. Methods: A total of 9 records were identified by searching the PubMed and Embase databases. Fixed- and random-effects models were performed to estimate the pooled odds ratios. Results: No significant association was found between the GSTM1 and GSTT1 homozygous deletion polymorphisms and risk of brain tumours, including glioma and meningioma. Similar negative results were also observed in both population-based and hospital-based studies. Conclusion: These findings indicate that the GSTM1 and GSTT1 polymorphisms may not be related to the development of brain tumours.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.1575-1578
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• 2012

Objectives: To obtain permeability surface (PS) values using multi-slice helical CT perfusion imaging and to evaluate the spatial distribution correlation between PS values and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in solitary brain metastases. Methods: Imaging was performed on 21 patients, PS values being calculated from the central, border and peripheral parts of tumours. VEGF expression was determined by immunohistochemical staining. Results: Rim enhancement was found in 16 cases, the border of the tumour featuring PS elevation with high VEGF expression in 13 cases. In the 5 cases with nodular enhancement, the border and the central part had high permeability and VEGF expression was high in all cases, the correlation being significant (P<0.01). Conclusion: VEGF expression in brain metastases positively correlates with PS values from CT perfusion imaging, so that the latter can be used in the surveillance of angiogenic activity in brain metastases.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.40-42
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• 2014

A correlation between radiation therapy and cavernoma has been suspected since 1994. Since then, only a few cases of radio-induced cavernomas have been reported in the literature (85 patients). Most of them were children, and the most frequent original tumour had been medulloblastoma. The authors report a case of two cystic cavernous angiomas after radiation therapy for atypical meningioma in adult woman. This is the first case of cavernous angioma after radiotherapy for low grade meningioma. A 39-year-old, Latin american woman was operated on for a frontal atypical meningioma with intradiploic component and adjuvant radiotherapy was delivered (6000 cGy local brain irradiation, fractionated over 6 weeks). Follow-up MR imaging showed no recurrences of the tumour and no other lesions. Ten years later, at the age of 49, she consulted for progressive drug-resistant headache. MR imaging revealed two new well defined areas of different signal intensity at the surface of each frontal pole. Both lesions were surgically removed; the histopathological diagnosis was cavernous angioma. This is the first case of cavernous angioma after radiation therapy for atypical meningioma : it confirms the development of these lesions after standard radiation therapy also in patients previously affected by non-malignant tumours.