Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 6, 2026
14:58
Comprehensive Endovascular and Open Surgical Management of Cerebral Arteriovenous Malformations
Published on: October 20, 2017
9.8K
Vascular Encasement Score as a Prognostic Tool for Outcome in Skull Base Tumor Resection
Iryna Bulakh1, Robert Lucaciu2, Nikola Duerr3
1Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany.
World Neurosurgery
|August 15, 2025
Summary
A new Vascular Encasement Score (VES) quantifies major cerebral artery involvement in skull base tumors. Higher VES scores predict worse patient outcomes and guide surgical risk assessment.
Area of Science:
- Neurosurgery
- Radiology
- Oncology
Background:
- Skull base tumors involving major cerebral arteries present significant surgical challenges.
- Assessing tumor-vessel interaction is crucial for predicting surgical complications and patient outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and validate a novel Vascular Encasement Score (VES) for quantifying arterial involvement in skull base tumors.
- To correlate the VES with intraoperative risk and patient neurological outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 48 patients with skull base tumors involving major cerebral arteries.
- Preoperative MRI assessment of longitudinal and circumferential tumor-vessel encasement.
- Calculation of VES by multiplying summed grades; correlation with neurological outcomes.
Main Results:
- Higher VES scores were significantly associated with poor neurological outcomes (p = 0.019).
- A VES threshold of 75 predicted high-risk cases, with 62.5% experiencing poor outcomes.
- Low VES correlated with favorable outcomes and high resection rates (>90%).
Conclusions:
- The MRI-based VES is a practical tool for quantifying vascular involvement in skull base tumors.
- VES aids in risk-adapted surgical planning and may support AI-driven preoperative risk assessment.
