5-Aminolevulinic acid fluorescence-guided endoscopic surgery for intraventricular tumors

In recent years, the efficacy of 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic diagnosis (5-ALA PDD) has been reported for various types of brain tumors, including malignant glioma. In addition, many reports have been published on the usefulness of neuroendoscopic surgery for intraventricular lesions. However, no systematic report is available on the combined use of 5-ALA PDD and neuroendoscopy for various intraventricular tumors.

We report 17 consecutive patients with intraventricular tumors. All patients received oral 5-ALA preoperatively and underwent endoscopic surgical treatment (resection or biopsy). We use a rigid endoscope with a built-in PDD system for intraoperative observation.

Seven resections and 10 biopsies were performed. Histopathological diagnosis was confirmed in all 17 cases. Gross total resection was achieved in six of seven cases. The fluorescence positivity rates for each tumor were glioblastoma 100% (2/2), low-grade glioma 67% (2/3), subependymoma 0% (0/1), medulloblastoma 100% (1/1), pineoblastoma 0% (0/1), germ cell tumor 75% (3/4), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma 33% (1/3), and metastatic tumor 100% (2/2).

Our method has the potential to improve detection of residual tumors in blind spots and deep areas, as well as the accuracy and safety of biopsy procedures for intraventricular lesions that are difficult to view and treat under a microscope.