Intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging-guided resection of high-grade glioma

Naik et al. compared 5-aminolevulinic acid fluorescence guided resection of high-grade glioma, Fluorescein sodium guided resection of high-grade glioma. (FS), and Intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging-guided resection of high-grade glioma (IMRI) with no image guidance to determine the best intraoperative navigation method to maximize rates of gross total resection (GTR) and outcomes. A frequentist network meta-analysis was performed following standard PRISMA guidelines (PROSPERO registration CRD42021268659). Surface-under-the-cumulative ranking (SUCRA) analysis was executed to hierarchically rank modalities by the outcomes of interest. Heterogeneity was measured by the I2 statistic. Publication bias was assessed by funnel plots and the use of Egger's test. Statistical significance was determined by p < 0.05. Twenty-three studies were included for analysis with a total of 2,643 patients. Network meta-analysis comparing 5-ALA, IMRI, and FS was performed. The primary outcome assessed was the rate of GTR. Analysis revealed the superiority of all intraoperative navigation to control (no navigation). SUCRA analysis revealed the superiority of IMRI + 5-ALA, IMRI alone, followed by FS, and 5-ALA. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were also examined. FS (vs. control) was associated with improved OS, while IMRI was associated with improved PFS (vs. control, FS, and 5-ALA). Intraoperative navigation using IMRI, FS, and 5-ALA lead to greater rates of GTR in HGGs. FS and 5-ALA also yielded improvement in OS and PFS. Further studies are needed to evaluate differences in survival benefit, operative duration, and cost ¹⁾.