Challenges and Opportunities in Awake Craniotomy for Brain Tumor Surgery in Low- and Lower-Middle-Income Countries: A Narrative Review and Perspective

Background: Low-income countries (LICs) and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs) are presented with unique challenges and opportunities when performing awake craniotomy (AC) for brain tumors. These circumstances arise from factors that are financial, infrastructural, educational, personnel, and sociocultural in nature.

Methods: We performed a systematic narrative review of series on AC for intra-axial brain tumors in LICs/LMICs using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, focusing on the challenges and opportunities in these settings. The PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched.

Results: After initially identifying 74 studies, inclusion-exclusion criteria were applied, leaving a total of 14 studies included in the review. These involved 409 patients who underwent AC in LICs/LMICs. These series were from India, Ghana, Nigeria, Iran, Pakistan, Morocco, the Philippines, and Egypt. The most common pathology encountered were gliomas (10-70%). Most studies (11/14, 78.5%) reported on their technique of cortical-subcortical mapping. All reported on motor mapping and 8 of these performed language mapping. The most common outcomes reported were seizure and neurologic deficits, and longest follow-up was at 1 year. Challenges noted were lack of equipment and trained personnel, need for validated tests for the local setting, and sociocultural factors. Opportunities identified were volume for training, technique innovation, and international collaboration.

Conclusions: There are numerous challenges and opportunities that arise when performing AC in LICs/LMICs. A collaborative approach toward harnessing the opportunities, and seeking creative solutions to address the challenges, would provide an ideal mechanism toward advancing neurosurgical care and specialty worldwide.