Frank Y. Shan

By Frank Yuan Shan, Dingrong Zhong, Wanming Hu, Nitesh Patel, Ekokobe Fonkem, Dongxia Feng, Yilu Zhang, Jason H. Huang and Arundhati Rao

Neoplasms of central nervous system accounts for approximately 1% of tumors of the human body, and they can be primary or secondary (metastatic), benign or malignant, and intra-axial or extra-axial. This chapter includes some most common brain and spinal cord tumors, like pituitary adenomas, meningiomas and gliomas, with their clinical, imaging, and histological characteristics for the diagnosis purpose, with additional treatment options and prognosis.

Part of the book: Neoplasm

By Congxin Dai, Xiaohai Liu, Sihai Ma, Ming Feng, Xinjie Bao, Kan Deng, Yong Yao, Renzhi Wang, DX. Feng, E. Fonkem, Frank Y. Shan and Jason H. Huang

Tumors of central nervous system (CNS) account for a small portion of tumors of human body, which includes tumors occurring in the parenchyma of brain and spinal cord as well as their coverings. This chapter covers some new development in some major brain tumors in both pediatric and adult populations, as well as some uncommon but diagnostic and management challenging tumors.

Part of the book: Primary Intracranial Tumors

By Frank Y. Shan, E. Castro, Amelia Sybenga, Sanjib Mukherjee, Erxi Wu, Karming Fung, The Li, Ekokobe Fonkem, Jason H. Huang and A. Rao

Tumors of central nervous system (CNS) account for a small portion of tumors of human body, which include tumors occurring in the parenchyma of brain and spinal cord as well as their coverings. The following chapter covers some new development in some major brain tumors in both pediatric and adult populations, as well as some uncommon but diagnostic and management challenging tumors.

Part of the book: Primary Intracranial Tumors

By Xiaoming Qi, Frank Y. Shan, Dongxia Feng, Jason H. Huang and

Benign spinal cord tumors (SCTs) are uncommon neoplasms that can arise within or adjacent to the spinal cord. Depending on their anatomical location, benign SCTs can be categorized as intramedullary, intradural-extramedullary, and extradural. The three most common benign SCTs are meningioma, nerve sheath tumors, and ependymoma. Both meningioma and nerve sheath tumors develop in the intradural-extramedullary compartment, while ependymoma occurs in the intramedullary space. Spinal meningiomas derive from arachnoidal cells and most commonly occur within the thoracic segment of the spine. Nerve sheath tumors, including schwannomas and neurofibromas, are closely associated with spinal nerves. Half of the spinal cord ependymomas arise in the lumbosacral segment or the filum terminale. Surgical treatment of large or symptomatic benign SCTs concentrates on total or subtotal resection of the tumors, which should be cautiously individualized based on the tumor location and histopathology. A curable complete resection should be achieved if possible while preserving the nervous function of the spinal cord and minimizing potential complications. Thoracic spinal roots may be sacrificed to acquire a total resection, yet cervical and lumbar nerve roots should be preserved prudently. Due to the vulnerable and complex anatomic nature of the spinal cord, maximal resection of the tumors can be achieved with the aid of appropriate intraoperative neural monitoring and meanwhile preserve nervous function.

Part of the book: Cancer Immunotherapy and Biological Cancer Treatments

By Wan-Ming Hu, Frank Y. Shan, Sanjib Mukherjee, Danijela Levacic and Jason H. Huang

Glioblastoma (GBM), a WHO grade IV brain tumor, is an aggressive tumor with poor prognosis; even with current standard care of triple therapy, consisting of surgical resection, chemo and radiation therapy, the patients’ median survival time is only approximately 15 months. Recent practice shows that immunotherapy made some progress in some other solid tumors, like melanoma or non-small cell lung cancer. This chapter is going to review some advances in immunotherapy for GBM.

Part of the book: Neurosurgical Procedures

By Frank Y. Shan, Dachun Zhao, Carlos A. Tirado, Ekokobe Fonkem, Yi-lu Zhang, Dong-xia Feng and Jason H. Huang

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a fatal human brain tumor of grade IV/4 by WHO classification, with a very poor prognosis. At the molecular level and clinical, GBM has at least two types, primary and secondary. Each has a different tumorigenesis and clinical presentation. In this chapter, some major molecular biomarkers and diagnostic hallmarks of GBM will be reviewed and discussed.

Part of the book: Glioblastoma

By Frank Y. Shan, Huanwen Wu, Dingrong Zhong, Di Ai, Riyam Zreik and Jason H. Huang

Tumors of mesenchymal origin, also called soft tissue tumors, include tumor from muscle, fat, fibrous tissue, vessels and nerves, which are a group of heterogeneous neoplasms, and accounts for about 1% of all malignant tumors. They are uncommon tumors in routine practice, with complex tumorigenesis. Due to the recent advance in molecular pathology, we got a major achievement in the understanding of these tumors at the gene level, which makes the diagnosis and prognosis of this type of tumor more accurate and comfortable. This chapter will cover some molecular pathology and diagnosis of soft tissue and bone tumors.

Part of the book: Advances in Soft Tissue Tumors