Implementation of 5-ALA improved progression-free survival in malignant glioma patients at a neurosurgical center, suggesting its vital role in surgery.
Gleolan™, 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) is a surgical adjunct tool used by Neurosurgeons to visualize malignant glioma intraoperatively in brain tumour surgery. Class I evidence for the effectiveness of 5-ALA suggest that 5-ALA guided resection can improve the extent of tumour removal (Wen et al., 2020). For GBM, higher extent of resection (EOR) is a significant factor in improving survival (Weller et al., 2021). 5-ALA doubles the likelihood of GTR, and has demonstrated to improve progression-free survival (PFS) (Stummer et al.,2006). Since its’ implementation at Toronto Western Hospital (TWH) in 2019, 5ALA has been utilized selectively for 60 neurosurgical-oncology patients. This presentation will detail the current evidence and benefits of 5ALA. It will outline the implementation process at Canada’s largest and leading neurosurgical center, and the role of a neuro-oncology nurse practitioner (NP) in facilitating its successful implementation. Nursing considerations and reference materials will be provided to help teams implement the use of 5ALA at their local neurosurgical center.
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Christine Wong (2025) studied this question.
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