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Deep Learning Technology: Sebastian Arnold, Betty van Aken, Paul Grundmann, Felix A. Gers and Alexander Löser. Learning Contextualized Document Representations for Healthcare Answer Retrieval. The Web Conference 2020 (WWW'20)
Funded by The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy; Grant: 01MD19013D, Smart-MD Project, Digital Technologies
According to a Dutch source juvenile pilocytic astrocytoma occurs at a rate of 2 in 100,000 people. Most affected are children ages 5–14 years. According to the National Cancer Institute more than 80% of astrocytomas located in the cerebellum are low grade (pilocytic grade I) and often cystic; most of the remainder are diffuse grade II astrocytomas.
Tumors of the optic pathway account for 3.6-6% of pediatric brain tumors, 60% of which are juvenile pilocytic astrocytomas. Astrocytomas account for 50% of pediatric primary central nervous system tumors. About 80-85% of cerebellar astrocytomas are juvenile pilocytic astrocytomas.
Recent genetic studies of pilocytic astrocytomas show that some sporadic cases have gain in chromosome 7q34 involving the BRAF locus.
Lhermitte–Duclos disease is a rare entity; approximately 222 cases of LDD have been reported in medical literature. Symptoms of the disease most commonly manifest in the third and fourth decades of life, although it may onset at any age. Men and women are equally affected, and there is not any apparent geographical pattern.
In most cases, the cause of acoustic neuromas is unknown. The only statistically significant risk factor for developing an acoustic neuroma is having a rare genetic condition called neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2). There are no confirmed environmental risk factors for acoustic neuroma. There are conflicting studies on the association between acoustic neuromas and cellular phone use and repeated exposure to loud noise. In 2011, an arm of the World Health Organization released a statement listing cell phone use as a low grade cancer risk. The Acoustic Neuroma Association recommends that cell phone users use a hands-free device.
Meningiomas are significantly more common in women than in men; they are most common in middle-aged women. Two predisposing factors associated with meningiomas for which at least some evidence exists are exposure to ionizing radiation (cancer treatment of brain tumors) and hormone replacement therapy.
Grade I pilocytic astrocytoma and cerebellar gliomas are not associated with recurrence after complete resection. Grade II astrocytomas and cerebellar gliomas are more likely to recur after surgical removal. Pilomyxoid astrocytomas may behave more aggressively than classic pilocytic astrocytoma.
After complete surgical removal, in cases of progressive/recurrent disease or when maximal surgical removal has been achieved, chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy will be considered by the medical team.
The clinical spectrum of the condition is broad. In other words, people with NF II may develop a wide range of distinct problems.
1. Acoustic nerve: 90% of the patients show bilateral acoustic schwannomas on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
2. Other cranial nerves and meninges: About 50% of patients develop tumours in other cranial nerves or meningiomas.
3. Spinal cord: About 50% of the patients develop spinal lesions. Only 40% of the spinal lesions are symptomatic. The spinal tumours in NF II are separated in two groups. Intramedullary lesions are located within the spinal tissue and usually belong to the so-called spinal astrocytomas or ependymomas. The extramedullary lesions are located within the small space between the surface of the spinal cord and the bony wall of the spinal canal. These tumours belong to the schwannomas and meningiomas.
4. Skin: If children show neurofibromas, a diagnostic procedure should be performed to decide which form of neurofibromatosis causes the alterations.
5. Eyes: Studies on patients with NF II show that more than 90% of the affected persons suffer eye lesions. The most common alteration in NF II is the juvenile subcapsular cataract (opacity of the lens) in young people.
"Presenting symptoms" (initial concern that brings a patient to a doctor) of a lesion of the nervus vestibulocochlearis due to a tumour in the region of the cerebello-pontine angle are the following: hearing loss (98%), tinnitus (70%), dysequilibrium (67%), headache (32%), facial numbness and weakness (29% and 10% respectively).
"Clinical signs" (alterations that are not regarded by the patient and that can be detected by the doctor in a clinical examination) of the lesion in discussion are: abnormal corneal reflex (33%), nystagmus (26%), facial hypesthesia (26%).
Evaluation (study of the patient with technical methods) shows the enlargement of the porus acousticus internus in the CT scan, enhancing tumours in the region of the cerebello-pontine angle in gadolinium-enhanced MRI scans, hearing loss in audiometric studies and perhaps pathological findings in electronystagmography. Some times there are elevated levels of protein in liquor study.
In NF II, acoustic neuromas usually affect young people, whereas in sporadic forms of acoustic neuromas, the appearance of the tumour is limited to the elderly.
There are two forms of the NF II:
- The "Wishart-Phenotype" is characterized by multiple cerebral and spinal lesions in patients younger than 20 years and with rapid progression of the tumours.
- Patients that develop single central tumours with slow progression after age of 20 are thought to have the "Feiling-Gardner-Phenotype".
Lipomatosis is believed to be a hereditary condition in which multiple lipomas are present on the body.
Adiposis dolorosa (Dercum disease) is a rare condition involving multiple painful lipomas, swelling, and fatigue. Early studies mentioned prevalence in obese postmenopausal women. However, current literature demonstrates that Dercum disease is present in more women than men of all body types; the average age for diagnosis is 35 years.
Benign symmetric lipomatosis (Madelung disease) is another condition involving lipomatosis. It nearly always appears in middle-aged males after many years of alcoholism. But, non-alcoholics and females can also be affected.
Because hearing loss in those with NF-2 almost always occurs after acquisition of verbal language skills, patients do not always integrate well into the Deaf culture and are more likely to resort to auditory assistive technology.
The most sophisticated of these devices is the cochlear implant, which can sometimes restore a high level of auditory function even when natural hearing is totally lost. However, the amount of destruction to the cochlear nerve caused by the typical NF2 schwannoma often precludes the use of such an implant. In these cases, an auditory brainstem implant (ABI) can restore a primitive level of hearing, which, when supplemented by lip reading, can restore a functional understanding of spoken language.
The tendency to develop a lipoma is not necessarily hereditary, although hereditary conditions such as familial multiple lipomatosis might include lipoma development. Genetic studies in mice have shown a correlation between the "HMG I-C" gene (previously identified as a gene related to obesity) and lipoma development. These studies support prior epidemiologic data in humans showing a correlation between "HMG I-C" and mesenchymal tumors.
Cases have been reported where minor injuries are alleged to have triggered the growth of a lipoma, called "post-traumatic lipomas." However, the link between trauma and the development of lipomas is controversial.
Lhermitte–Duclos disease (LDD) (), also called dysplastic gangliocytoma of the cerebellum, is a rare, slowly growing tumor of the cerebellum, a gangliocytoma sometimes considered to be a hamartoma, characterized by diffuse hypertrophy of the granular layer of the cerebellum. It is often associated with Cowden syndrome. It was described by Jacques Jean Lhermitte and P. Duclos in 1920.
A solid pseudopapillary tumour (also known as solid pseudopapillary neoplasm or, more formally, solid pseudopapillary tumour/neoplasm of the pancreas) is a low-grade malignant neoplasm of the pancreas of architecture that typically afflicts young women.
The overall complication rate following surgery is around 20%; cerebrospinal fluid leak is the most common.
A diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is a tumour located in the pons (middle) of the brain stem. The brain stem is the bottommost portion of the brain, connecting the cerebrum with the spinal cord. The majority of brain stem tumours occur in the pons and are diffusely infiltrating (they grow amidst the nerves), and therefore cannot be surgically removed. Glioma is a general name for any tumour that arises from the supportive tissue called glia, which help keep the neurons in place and functioning well. The brain stem contains all of the afferent (incoming) neurons within the spinal cord, as well as important structures involved in eye movements and in face and throat muscle control and sensation.
A gonadal tissue neoplasm is a tumor having any histology characteristic of cells or tissues giving rise to the gonads. These tissues arise from the sex cord and stromal cells. The tumor may be derived from these tissues, or produce them.
Although the tumor is composed of gonadal tissue, it is not necessarily located in an ovary or testicle.
A gonadal tissue neoplasm should not be confused with a urogenital neoplasm, though the two topics are often studied together. The embryology of the gonads is only indirectly related to the embryology of the external genitals and urinary system.
An muscle tissue neoplasm is a neoplasm derived from muscle.
An example is myoma.
Erdheim–Chester disease is associated with high mortality rates. In 2005, the survival rate was below 50% at three years from diagnosis. More recent reports of patients treated with Interferon therapy describe an overall 5-year survival of 68%. Long term survival is currently even more promising, although this impression is not reflected in the recent literature.
DIPG has a 5-year survival rate of <1%. The median overall survival of children diagnosed with DIPG is approximately 9 months. The 1- and 2-year survival rates are approximately 30% and less than 10%, respectively. These statistics make DIPG one of the most devastating pediatric cancers. Although 75–85% of patients show some improvement in their symptoms after radiation therapy, DIPGs almost always begin to grow again (called recurrence, relapse, or progression). Clinical trials have reported that the median time between radiation therapy and progression is 5–8.8 months. Patients whose tumors begin to grow again may be eligible for experimental treatment through clinical trials to try to slow or stop the growth of the tumor. However, clinical trials have not shown any significant benefit from experimental DIPG therapies so far.
DIPGs that progress usually grow quickly and affect important parts of the brain. The median time from tumor progression to death is usually very short, between 1 and 4.5 months. During this time, doctors focus on palliative care: controlling symptoms and making the patient as comfortable as possible.
Cysts derived from CNS tissues are very common in America. They are a subtype of cerebrovascular diseases, which are the third leading cause of death in America. Generally, CNS cysts are present in all geographic regions, races, ages, and sexes. However, certain types of CNS cysts are more prevalent in certain types of individuals than others. Some examples of incidence rates in specific types of cysts include:
- Arachnoid cysts are more prevalent in males than females
- Colloid cysts are more prevalent in adults
- Dermoid cysts are more prevalent in children under 10 years of age
- Epidermoid cysts are more prevalent in middle-aged adults
An adipose tissue neoplasm is a neoplasm derived from adipose tissue.
An example is lipoma.
Pancreatic serous cystadenoma, also known as serous cystadenoma of the pancreas and serous microcystic adenoma, a benign tumour of pancreas. It is usually found in the head of the pancreas, and may be associated with von Hippel-Lindau syndrome.
In contrast to some of the other cyst-forming tumors of the pancreas (such as the intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm and the mucinous cystic neoplasm), serous cystic neoplasms are almost always entirely benign. There are some exceptions; rare case reports have described isolated malignant serous cystadenocarcinomas. In addition, serous cystic neoplasms slowly grow, and if they grow large enough they can press on adjacent organs and cause symptoms.
Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) is a type of tumor that can occur within the cells of the pancreatic duct. IPMN tumors produce mucus, and this mucus can form pancreatic cysts. Although intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms are benign tumors, they can progress to pancreatic cancer. As such IPMN is viewed as a precancerous condition. Once an intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm has been found, the management options include close monitoring and pre-emptive surgery.
Solid pseudopapillary tumours are typically round, well-demarcated, measuring 2–17 cm in diameter (average 8 cm), with solid and cystic areas with hemorrhage on cut sections.
Pathologists classify intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) into two broad groups - those that are associated with an invasive cancer and those that are not associated with an invasive cancer. This separation has critical prognostic significance. Patients with a surgically resected intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm without an associated invasive cancer have an excellent prognosis (>95% will be cured), while patients with a surgically resected intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm with an associated invasive cancer have a worse prognosis. Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms without an associated invasive cancer can be further subcategorized into three groups. They are IPMN with low-grade dysplasia, IPMN with moderate dysplasia, and IPMN with high-grade dysplasia. This categorization is less important than the separation of IPMNs with an associated cancer from IPMNs without an associated invasive cancer, but this categorization is useful as IPMNs are believed to progress from low-grade dysplasia to moderate dysplasia to high-grade dysplasia to an IPMN with an associated invasive cancer.
Many CNS cysts form in the womb during the first few weeks of development as a result of congenital defects. In adults cysts may also form due to a head injury or trauma, resulting in necrotic tissues (dead tissue), and can sometimes be associated with cancerous tumors or infection in the brain. However, the underlying reasons for cyst formation are still unknown.
Approximately 500 cases have been reported in the literature to date. ECD affects predominantly adults, with a mean age of 53 years.
Pathologists classify serous cystic neoplasms into two broad groups. Those that are benign, that have not spread to other organs, are designated "serous cystadenoma". Serous cystadenomas can be further sub-typed into microcystic, oligocystic (or macrocystic), solid, mixed serous-endocrine neoplasm, and VHL-associated serous cystic neoplasm. This latter classification scheme is useful because it highlights the range of appearances and the clinical associations of these neoplasms. Serous cystic neoplasms that have spread ("metastasized") to another organ are considered malignant and are designated "serous cystadenocarcinoma".