More than forty genes with considerably increased expression in glioblastoma as compared to normal human brain were identified by SAGE. One of the most prominent among them was CHI3L2 (YKL-39) gene, which encodes 39 kDa chitinase-like protein.Northern blot hybridization confirmed the data of SAGE for the majority of glioblastomas. Anaplastic astrocytomas could be divided on two groups: in one of them the YKL-39 expression was completely undetectable, but in the other group quite high contents of YKL-39 mRNA were detected. In this study, preliminary data show that patients with undetectable expression of YKL-39 in anaplastic astrocytomas did not have recurrent tumors quite long (more than 2-3 years) period of time. YKL-39 RNA has not been detected in diffuse astrocytomas and in all (but one) samples of normal brain. Increased expression of YKL-39 gene in glioblastomas was shown also at the protein level. Western blots did not shown simultaneous production of YKL-39 and YKL-40, in spite of having high degree of their sequence identity. Increased expression of YKL-39 in subsets of patients with glial tumors, reported here for the first time, together with abnormal increase of the YKL-40 gene expression may be a novel molecular marker for glial tumors.

The increased interest in the application of lasers in neuro-oncology prompted us to present our experience of using the laser technologies in the treatment of cerebral gliomas. The aim of the study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of image-guided laser surface thermal therapy (LSTT) and its influence on survival of patients with glioblastoma (GBM).Data of 91 patients (49 males, 42 females, mean age 51.4 years, range 23-70 years) with supratentorial GBMs located in close vicinity to or within the eloquent brain areas were retrospectively analyzed.All patients were divided into two groups: LSTT group (n = 28) and control group (n = 63). There were no significant differences by gender, age, Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) score, and tumor location between groups. Total removal in the LSTT group was performed in 67.9%, in the control group-31.7% (p < 0.01); on the contrary, subtotal removal prevailed in the control group-52.4%; in the LSTT group, it was 32.1%. In postoperative period, there was no significant difference in KPS score between the groups (p = 0.89). A higher degree of resection provided an increase in survival rates (p < 0.01). The median overall survival was 15.5 ± 10.5 months, in the LSTT group 18.4 ± 11.7 and in the control group 14.3 ± 9.1 (p = 0.03). The application of image-guided LSTT in patients with GBMs of eloquent brain areas allowed the high rate of complete resection and improved overall survival without the negative effect on the functional status after surgery.

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Objective: To study iron exchange irregularities in experimental animals and patients with glial brain tumors to ascertain the role of the ‘iron component’ in glial brain tumor pathogenesis. Subject and Methods: A suspension of A.101.08 tumor cells was implanted in the cortex of the left-brain hemisphere of rats to model experimentally induced glial brain tumor. At 7 or 14 days after implantation, blood and tissue samples from the tumor, peritumoral tissue, and brain regions were taken for analysis. Blood and plasma samples were obtained from 23 patients as well as biopsy samples taken during tumor removal surgery. Electron resonance spectroscopy was used to determine the concentrations of transferrin iron, transferrin in whole blood and in blood cells, and chelatable and stored iron in the tissues of experimental animals and patients. Results: Hypoferremia was found in rats with both small and large glial brain tumors, whereas hyperferremia was found to be a characteristic of malignant glial brain tumors in humans. We identified statistically significant increases in stored and chelatable iron concentrations in the tumor and peritumoral brain tissue compared to the blood and the adjacent brain tissue (probably normal) in both human malignant glial brain tumors and in rat experimental glial brain tumors. Conclusions: These findings suggest that iron misregulation plays a part in glial brain tumor pathogenesis and this may provide a basis for understanding the association between glial brain tumors and epilepsy.

Objective. In the current study, we present the results of the survival analysis of patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma (GBM) in Ukraine. Materials and methods. A total of 3763 cases of patients with histologically confirmed newly diagnosed GBM who were treated over a 9-year period (2008 -2016) were included. All patients were grouped as younger adults (<45 years at diagnosis) -734 (19.5%) cases, middle-aged (45-64 years) -2360 (62.7%), and older adults (>64 years) -669 (17.8%). Clinical parameters and survival rates were defined for every three 3-year periods: 2008-2010, 2011-2013, and 2014-2016. Results. The overall median survival was 12.2±0.2 months. Higher survival rate was observed in young adults 17.4±1.4 months (p<0.001). The hazard ratio (HR) of middle-aged group was 1.79 (95% CI 1.60-2.00; p=0.017) and for older age -1.51 (95% CI 1.32-1.72; p<0.001). The patients treated in the second period achieved better prognosis with a median survival in 12.6±0.3 months (p<0.001) with HR 0.75, 95% CI 0.66-0.85; p<0.01). The median overall survival in combined treatment protocol group was 16.3±0.5 months, and the worst prognosis was in surgery alone group -7.5±0.3 months (p<0.001). The HR for surgery with radiotherapy was 1.36 (95% CI 1.22-1.51; p<0.001), and for surgery alone it raised up to 1.94 (95% CI 1.73-2.17; p<0.001). The HR for a combination of surgery with chemotherapy was 1.18 (95% CI 0.90-1.53; p<0.001), but it was not significant (p=0.25). Ромоданова, вул. Платона Майбороди, 32, Київ, Україна, 04050, e-mail: dr.rozumenko@gmail. com Мета: провести аналіз виживаності пацієнтів з первинно діагностованими гліобластомами (ГБ) в Україні. Матеріали і методи. Проаналізовано 3763 випадки гіс тологічно верифікованих первинно діагностованих ГБ, виявлених протягом 9-річного періоду (2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016). Пацієнтів розподілили на групи залежно від віку: молоді особи (<45 років) -734 (19,5%), особи середнього віку (45-64 років) -2360 (62,7%), а також особи похилого віку (>64 років) -669 (17,8%). Клінічні параметри та показники виживаності аналізували за три периоди: 2008-2010, 2011-2013 і 2014-2016 рр. Результати. Загальна медіана виживання становила 12,2±0,2 міс. Більшу виживаність відзначено серед молодих осіб -17,4±1,4 міс (р<0,001). Величина відношення ризиків (ВР) для осіб середнього віку становила 1,79 (95% довірчий інтервал (ДІ) 1,60-2,00; р=0,017), для осіб похилого віку -1,51 (95% ДІ 1,32-1,72; р<0,001). Пацієнти, які лікувалися в 2011-2013 рр., мали кращий прогноз із середньою виживаністю 12,6±0,3 міс (р<0,001) та ВР -0,75 (95% ДІ 0,66-0,85, р<0,01). Середня загальна виживаність у групі протоколів комбінованого лікування становила 16,3±0,5 міс. Найгіршим прогноз був у пацієнтів, яким провели лише хірургічне втручання, -7,5±0,3 міс (р<0,001). ВР для комбінації хірургічного втручання з променевою терапією становило 1,36 (95% ДІ 1,22-1,51; р<0,001), для лише хірургічного втручання -1,94 (95% ДІ 1,73-2,17; р<0,001), для комбінації хірургічного втручання з хімі...

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Досліджено розповсюдженість мутацій C282Y і H63D гена спадкового гемохроматозу HFE серед населення різних регіонів України та хворих з гліальними пухлинами мозку. Виявлено, що частота поширення мутації C282Y в популяції України складає 2,5 %, у тому числі в східному регіоні-2,9 %, центральному-2,0 %, західному-2,5%,у популяції кримських татар-І %. Частота поширення мутації H63D в Україні складає 17 %. Серед 86 хворих з пухлинами мозку різної етіології спостерігається тенденція до зниження кількості гетерозигот з мутацією H63D.

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