Rutka, James T.

The AANS/CNS Section on Tumors was founded 40 years ago in 1984 to assist in the education of neurosurgeons interested in neuro-oncology, and serves as a resource for other national organizations regarding the clinical treatment of nervous system tumors. The Section on Tumors was the first national physicians’ professional organization dedicated to the study and treatment of patients with brain and spine tumors. Over the past 40 years, the Section on Tumors has built solid foundations, including establishing the tumor section satellite meetings, founding the Journal of Neuro-Oncology (the first medical journal dedicated to brain and spine surgical oncology), advancing surgical neuro-oncology education and research, promoting neurosurgical involvement in neuro-oncology clinical trials, and advocating for patients with brain and spine tumors. This review provides a synopsis of the Section on Tumors’ history, its challenges, and its opportunities, drawing on the section’s archives and input from the 17 section chairs who led it during its first 40 years.

Abstract Advances in surgical procedures and improvements in patient outcomes have resulted from applications of new technologies in the operating room over the past three decades. All surgeons would be excited about the possibilities of improving their resections of tumors for patients with cancer if a new technology were introduced to facilitate this. In this issue of ACS Nano, Karabeber et al. use a hand-held Raman scanner to probe the completeness of resection of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most malignant brain cancer, in a genetically engineered mouse model. They show that the hand-held scanner could accurately detect gold–silica surface-enhanced Raman scattering nanoparticles embedded within the GBM, resulting in a complete tumor resection. In this Perspective, we review potential applications of nanotechnologies to neurosurgery and describe how new systems, such as the one described in this issue, may be brought closer to the operating room through modifications in nanoparticle size, overcoming the obstacles presented by the blood–brain barrier, and functionalizing nanoparticle conjugates so that they reach their target at highest concentrations possible. Finally, with adaptations of the actual hand-held Raman scanner device itself, one can envision the day when “nanosurgical” procedures will be a part of the surgeon’s armamentarium.