Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Brain Tumor Research & The Idea Of "awake" Surgery

By Robbie Sutter


Brain tumor research is, in my mind, one of those fields that more than deserve the level of awareness that is brought to it. There are so many different procedures that can be brought to the forefront and the fact that they can have been implemented goes to show that there are results to be had. What about the various drugs that have been tested as well? Regardless of what the case may be, seeing actual surgeries performed with success is the kind of idea that cannot be overlooked.

An article on ABC News went into detail about a recent story in the field of brain tumor research. Basically, a man by the name of Matt Englander - the head coach for Case Western Reserve - was diagnosed with a tumor that was located in the brain's parietal lobe. This was something that required immediate attention, which Englander discovered when he began to experience numbness in his hands. It is kind of story that has the potential to earn the attention of many organizations, Voices against Brain Cancer included.

Englander was helped by a particular procedure and it is one that is more than worth getting into discussion about. The article said that an "awake" surgery was utilized and it is easily one of the more intricate procedures that I have seen. One of the reasons for this was the inclusion of an intra-operative MRI. This kind of machinery would be needed, though, if Englander wanted to treat the oligodendroglioma in his brain. In order for such a growth to be removed, it is clear that hard work in the field had to be seen.

Once it was determined what had to be done, Englander went under "awake" surgery, the aforementioned MRI mapping the brain so that vital areas would not be damaged in the process. Before this was set in place, there was no true way to tell which areas of the brain were impacted and which ones were not. Englander was put to sleep and then awoken again for the sake of further mapping of the brain, testing language and motor skills. What were the results of this procedure?

There were many uplifting aspects as far as the results were concerned. Not only did Englander have an IDH1 mutation but he also had 1P and 19 Q mutations to go along with them. In addition, he would not require any further chemo or radiation therapy, even though there will be a follow-up at some time in the future. If this is the case, though, I have to believe that this story is a rather uplifting one when talking about brain tumor research in general.




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