Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36686528›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in neurology2022

Laser interstitial thermal therapy for the treatment of insular lesions: A systematic review.

Artur Vetkas, Jürgen Germann, Alexandre Boutet, Nardin Samuel, Can Sarica, Kazuaki Yamamoto, Brendan Santyr, Cletus Cheyuo, Christopher R Conner, Stefan M Lang and 5 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in neurology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
2.7field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Laser interstitial thermal therapy in pediatric neurosurgery: a prospective nationwide study on indications, safety, and early outcomes.Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Artur VetkasDivision of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University Health Network and University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Jürgen GermannDivision of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University Health Network and University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Alexandre BoutetDivision of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University Health Network and University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Nardin SamuelDivision of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University Health Network and University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Can SaricaDivision of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University Health Network and University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Kazuaki YamamotoDivision of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University Health Network and University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Brendan SantyrDivision of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University Health Network and University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Cletus CheyuoDivision of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University Health Network and University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Christopher R ConnerDivision of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University Health Network and University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Stefan M LangDivision of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University Health Network and University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Andres M LozanoDivision of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University Health Network and University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
George M IbrahimDivision of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Sick Kids Toronto, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Taufik ValianteDivision of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University Health Network and University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Paul N KongkhamDivision of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University Health Network and University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Suneil K KaliaDivision of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University Health Network and University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
University Health Network · CAUniversity of Toronto · CAWestern University · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: The surgical treatment of insular lesions has been historically associated with high morbidity. Laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) has been increasingly used in the treatment of insular lesions, commonly neoplastic or epileptogenic. Stereotaxis is used to guide laser probes to the insula where real-time magnetic resonance thermometry defines lesion creation. There is an absence of previously published reviews on insular LITT, despite a rapid uptake in use, making further study imperative. Methods: Here we present a systematic review of the PubMed and Scopus databases, examining the reported clinical indications, outcomes, and adverse effects of insular LITT. Results: A review of the literature revealed 10 retrospective studies reporting on 53 patients (43 pediatric and 10 adults) that were treated with insular LITT. 87% of cases were for the treatment of epilepsy, with 89% of patients achieving seizure outcomes of Engle I-III following treatment. The other 13% of cases reported on insular tumors and radiological improvement was seen in all cases following treatment. All but one study reported adverse events following LITT with a rate of 37%. The most common adverse events were transient hemiparesis (29%) and transient aphasia (6%). One patient experienced an intracerebral hemorrhage, which required a decompressive hemicraniectomy, with subsequent full recovery. Conclusion: This systematic review highlights the suitability of LITT for the treatment of both insular seizure foci and insular tumors. Despite the growing use of this technique, prospective studies remain absent in the literature. Future work should directly evaluate the efficacy of LITT with randomized and controlled trials.

Indexed as

epilepsygliomainsulaLITTMRgLITTseizuretumor

Identifiers

PMID36686528
PMCPMC9845884
OpenAlexW4313585148

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.