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Review
. 2019 Feb;141(3):487-494.
doi: 10.1007/s11060-018-03087-7. Epub 2019 Jan 3.

Established and emerging uses of 5-ALA in the brain: an overview

Ricardo Díez Valle  1 , Constantinos G Hadjipanayis  2 , Walter Stummer  3
Affiliations
Review

Established and emerging uses of 5-ALA in the brain: an overview

Ricardo Díez Valle et al. J Neurooncol. 2019 Feb.

Abstract

Introduction: 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) was approved by the FDA in June 2017 as an intra-operative optical imaging agent for patients with gliomas (suspected World Health Organization Grades III or IV on preoperative imaging) as an adjunct for the visualization of malignant tissue during surgery. 5-ALA fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS) has been in widespread use in Europe and other continents since 2007.

Methods: We reviewed the data available and summarize the most important known uses of 5-ALA FGS and its potential future applications.

Results/conclusions: The technique has been extensively studied, and more than 300 papers have been published on this topic. Visualization of high-grade glioma tissue is robust and reproducible, and can impact the extent of tumor resection and patient outcomes. 5-ALA FGS for other kind of tumors needs further development.

Keywords: 5-Aminolevulinic acid; Fluorescence-guided surgery; Glioblastoma; Glioma.

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