High-Grade Gliomas: Updates and Challenges

A special issue of Medicina (ISSN 1648-9144). This special issue belongs to the section "Oncology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 744

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Neurosurgery, Medical Faculty, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Ernst-Grube-Straße 40, 06120 Halle, Germany
Interests: neuroprotection; apoptosis; nimodipine; calcium channel blocker; schwann cell; neuronal cell death; vestibular schwannoma; neurofibromatosis

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Guest Editor Assistant
Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
Interests: neurosurgery; glioma; neurology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Despite constant advances in medicine, high-grade gliomas are associated with an unfavourable prognosis. They represent a complex and challenging interdisciplinary field where the modern approach to imaging and therapy involves a multidisciplinary team of neurosurgeons, neurologists, neuroradiologists, and radiotherapists.

In recent years, advances in imaging, optimisation of radiation treatment plans, new developments in adjuvant drug therapy, and other intraoperative modalities such as intraoperative ultrasound have improved the overall diagnosis and management of this disease. The use of alternating electric fields (TTFields) as an adjunct therapy, the promising use of IDH-inhibiting drugs, and the trend of supramarginal resection, where safe, are also worthy of mention. In this Special Issue of Medicina, we aim to publish articles on further advances in high-grade gliomas in as broad a context as possible to provide readers with a comprehensive overview of the latest developments.

Comprehensive reviews, technical notes, opinions, and clinical and basic science research on high-grade gliomas are welcome in this Special Issue.

Dr. Sandra Leisz
Guest Editor

Dr. Maximilian Scheer
Guest Editor Assistant

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Keywords

  • glioma
  • glioblastoma
  • neuro-oncology
  • tumour biology
  • imaging
  • radiotherapy
  • chemotherapy

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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22 pages, 4538 KB  
Systematic Review
Total Intravenous Versus Inhalational Anesthesia in High-Grade Glioma Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
by Plamen Penchev, Boris Tablov, Mariano Gallo Ruelas, Daniela Milanova-Ilieva, Lyubomir Gaydarski, Nikolay Yordanov, Eduardo Alonso, Danna Espinoza, Petar-Preslav Petrov, Ivelina Lukanova, Pavel Stanchev, Julian Dichev, Ivana Korentova and Nikolai Ramadanov
Medicina 2025, 61(8), 1463; https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina61081463 - 14 Aug 2025
Viewed by 572
Abstract
Background and Objectives: High-grade gliomas (HGGs) are aggressive primary brain tumors with a poor prognosis despite multimodal treatment. The anesthetic technique used during surgery may influence tumor progression and survival, but its role in HGGs remains unclear. This meta-analysis evaluated the effect [...] Read more.
Background and Objectives: High-grade gliomas (HGGs) are aggressive primary brain tumors with a poor prognosis despite multimodal treatment. The anesthetic technique used during surgery may influence tumor progression and survival, but its role in HGGs remains unclear. This meta-analysis evaluated the effect of total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) versus inhalational anesthesia (INHA) on overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in HGG patients. Materials and Methods: A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane databases for studies assessing the impact of TIVA versus INHA on OS and PFS in HGG patients. Statistical analysis was performed using R version 4.3.1. Heterogeneity across studies was quantified using the Cochrane Q test alongside the I2 statistic. A random-effects model was employed to derive the pooled hazard ratios (HRs). Results: A total of five studies involving 827 participants (mean age 58 years, mean females 38%) were included, of whom 406 (49%) received TIVA. No statistically significant differences were observed in OS (HR 0.77; 95% CI [0.58–1.02]; p = 0.07; I2 = 67%) or PFS (HR 0.88; 95% CI [0.70–1.10]; p = 0.27; I2 = 51%) between the groups. A subgroup analysis revealed that TIVA was associated with improved OS in patients with grade IV tumors (HR 0.70; 95% CI [0.51–0.96]; p = 0.03), while no significant effect was observed in the mixed grade III–IV subgroup. However, the test for subgroup differences was not statistically significant (p = 0.0669), and this finding should be interpreted with caution. No significant differences were observed in median OS or PFS, or in single-arm meta-analyses. Conclusions: This meta-analysis found no statistically significant differences in overall or progression-free survival between TIVA and INHA in patients undergoing surgery for HGGs. Although a subgroup analysis suggested a possible survival advantage of TIVA in grade IV tumors, the lack of a statistically significant subgroup difference test limits the strength of this finding. Further investigation is needed to determine whether anesthetic technique influences outcomes in this subgroup. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue High-Grade Gliomas: Updates and Challenges)
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