Neoplasms

All Conditions

Behaviors and Mental Disorders

Rare Diseases

Glioma

Neoplasms, Neuroepithelial

Neuroectodermal Tumors

Neuroectodermal Tumors, Primitive

Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal

Neoplasms by Histologic Type

Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial

Neoplasms, Nerve Tissue

Quality of Life

Neuroepithelioma

Antineoplastic Agents

All Drugs and Chemicals

Temozolomide

Only neurological and neuropsychological assessment as per normal clinical routine and conventional and advanced functional, resting-state MRI acquisitions

Patients submitted to motor rehabilitation program aimed at learning unimanual and bimanual coordinated sequences, along with personalized exercise according to tumor location (frontal vs parietal). For 6 months each patient will perform the motor training program in outpatient training session, checked by a physiotherapist for corrected execution at home 3 times/week, and is assessed for the correct training execution and progresses in training sessions each month, by physical therapists at the Rehabilitation Unit and on a weekly schedule by on-line distant monitoring (telemedicine).

Temozolomide-based regimen of 6 months duration is applied. Treatment will be discontinued in case of toxicity (G2-G4).

Temozolomide-based regimen of 6 months duration is applied. Treatment will be discontinued in case of toxicity (G2-G4).

Patients will also be submitted to motor rehabilitation program aimed at learning unimanual and bimanual coordinated sequences, along with personalized exercise according to tumor location (frontal vs parietal). For 6 months each patient will perform the motor training program in outpatient training session, checked by a physiotherapist for corrected execution at home 3 times/week, and is assessed for the correct training execution and progresses in training sessions each month, by physical therapists at the Rehabilitation Unit and on a weekly schedule by on-line distant monitoring (telemedicine).

rs-fMRI + neurological and neuropsychological evaluation at preoperative timepoint and 1-2 months postop, 3-4 months postop, 6-8 months postop, 12 months postop

Resting State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (rs-fMRI)

personalized motor rehabilitation for 6 months + rs-fMRI + neurological and neuropsychological evaluation before starting motor rehabilitation, at 2-3 months during rehabilitation, 6-9 months during rehabilitation, before surgery (if surgery indicated by tumour board), 1 month postop, 2-3 months postop

Up-front Motor Rehabilitation

Temozolomide at either 6 cycles consisting of 150-200 mg per square meter for 5 days during each 28-day cycle, or metronomic schedule, + rs-fMRI + neurological and neuropsychological evaluation before starting motor rehabilitation, at 2-3 months during rehabilitation, 6-9 months during rehabilitation, before surgery (if surgery indicated by tumour board), 1 month postop, 2-3 months Post

Up-front Chemotherapy

Lorenzo Bello, MD

Background Lower-grade-gliomas affect young patients, thus the longest progression-free-survival (PFS) with a high level quality of life is crucial. Surgery most significantly impacts on tumor natural history, postponing recurrence, improving symptoms, decreasing the need of adjuvant therapies, with extent of resection, gross-total and supra-total (GTR and STR), strongly associating with longest PFS. Achievement of GTR or STR depends on the degree of functional reorganization induced by glioma. Consequently, a successful treatment fostering neural circuit reorganization before surgery, would increase the chance of GRT/STR.

Hypothesis The plastic potential of motor system suggests that reorganization of circuits controlling hand movements could be presurgically fostered in LGG patients by enhancing plasticity with up-front motor-rehabilitation and/or by decreasing tumor infiltration with up-front chemotherapy. Advanced neuroimaging allows to infer the neuroplasticity potential. Intraoperative assessment of the motor circuits functionality will validate reliability of preoperative analyses.

Aims The project has 4 aims, investigating: A) the presurgical functional (FC) and structural (SC) connectomics of the hand-motor network to picture the spontaneous reorganization and the influence of clinical, imaging and histomolecular variables; B) the dynamic of FC and SC after tumor resection; C) changes in FC and SC maps after personalized upfront motor rehabilitation and/or chemotherapy; D) the effect of FC and SC upfront treatment on the achievement of GTR/STR preserving hand dexterity.

Experimental Design Resting-state fMRI and diffusion-MRI will provide FC and SC maps pre- and post-surgery; personalized up-front motor rehabilitation and/or chemotherapy will be administered; Intraoperative brain mapping procedures will generate data to validate the maps.

Expected Results

1. Provide a tool to render the motor functional reorganization predictive of surgical outcome.
2. Identify demographic, clinical and imaging variables associated with functional reorganization.
3. Describe the gain induced by up-front treatment.
4. Distinguish "patterns" predicting chance for GTR/STR from "patterns" suggesting need for up-front treatment.

Impact On Cancer Results will increase the achievement of GTR/STR, preserving motor integrity, with dramatic impact on LGGs natural history.

Patients immediately candidate for resection will be assessed neurologically, neuropsychologically and by functional MRI. Extent of resection will be assessed on \<48hrs and 2-month MRI. Neurological and neuropsychological assessment will be performed during regular follow-up. Patients not requiring an adjuvant treatment according to tumor board meeting will be submitted to functional MRI at 4-8 and 12 months from surgery. Patients not immediately eligible for resection will be submitted to biopsy for histomolecular definition. Patients not requiring radiation therapy will be submitted to neurological, neuropsychological, and functional MRI evaluation. Upon clinical context, patients will undergo motor rehabilitation and/or chemotherapy. After 3-6 months, patients will undergo functional MRI and evaluated for surgery. Neurological and neuropsychological evaluation will be performed at treatment initiation, every month during treatment, at admission for surgery and 1 month after surgery.

Personalized Rendering of Motor System Functional Plasticity Potential to Improve Glioma Resection and Quality of Life

ARAT test (Grasp, Grip, Pinch, each consisting of 3 items scoring 0 \[not performed, 1/2 abnormal, 3 ok\]), De Renzi test (24 complex gestures with individual scoring 0-3 \[0 no execution/always abnormal, 2/1 ok after 1 or 2 trials, 3 ok\] each evaluating one or more among finger movements \[total score 0-36\], hand movements \[total score 0-36\], hand and finger position \[total score 0-36\], sequence of movements \[total score 0-36\], meaningful gestures \[total score 0-36\], meaningless gestures \[total score 0-36\]; tool pantomime for 10 objects individual score 0 if always incorrect, 1 if correct after command repetition, 2 correct immediately, total score range 0-20)

Language: Naming test; Fhonemic and Semantic Fluency Verbal and Spatial Memory: 15 Rey's Words; Recall Rey figure; Visuo-spatial test: Rey's Copy; Cancellation Test Attention and Executive Functions: Attentive matrice and Trail Making test For each listed test, equivalent score, from 0 to 4, is used.

Mood Disorders. HADS test (score 0-21 : 0-7= Normal; 8-21 Mood disorders

Spots Global Cancer Trial Database for neurological rehabilitation