Pituitary Neoplasms

Temozolomide is the main chemotherapy drug used for aggressive pituitary tumors and pituitary carcinomas that do not respond to standard treatments like surgery or radiation. Most of what is known about how well this treatment works comes from small studies in Europe and the United States, with very little data from Latin America. Building on a previous multicenter study conducted in Brazil, this study (TEMPLA) expands data collection to additional centers across Latin America to better understand how patients in this region respond to temozolomide, how long the treatment controls the tumor, and whether certain tumor characteristics (such as MGMT status) can help predict which patients are more likely to benefit.

"For lesions in the skull base, including meningiomas, chordomas and pituitary tumors, endoscopic surgery has replaced traditional microscopes as the mainstream procedure. Although neurosurgeons can enlarge the surgical area using a neuroendoscope, it does not provide any information on the morphology and location of anatomical structures beneath visible surfaces. Due to the complex anatomical relationships of adjacent structures in the skull base, lesions occurring here are often located deep within anatomy that is difficult to fully expose and remove with endoscopic surgery alone. Especially when dealing with larger tumors that surround major arteries and nerves, limited visibility at surface level can easily damage blood vessels or nerves causing complications such as bleeding during or after surgery, deformities or functional impairments. The purpose of this study is to explore how augmented reality (AR) technology can highlight important anatomical structures in a neuroendoscope's field of view to optimize surgical visibility beyond what is possible with just an endoscope alone. This will make it easier for surgeons to distinguish deeper anatomical structures and reduce intraoperative and postoperative complications associated with endoscopic surgery."