A Meta-Analysis on Potential Modifiers of LITT Efficacy for Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy: Seizure-Freedom Seems to Fade with Time

Abstract Background The efficacy of laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) has not been clearly established yet. Objective: We conducted a meta-analysis to estimate the efficacy of LITT for TLE (Q1). We also examined the effect of the patient's age (Q2), the total ablation volume (TAV) (Q3), the strength of the MRI unit (Q4), the type of the utilized stereotactic platform (Q5), and the follow up period (Q6) on the patient's outcome. Methods: Fixed- and random-effects model meta-analysis was conducted to assess the proportion estimate for each parameter individually. Kaplan-Meier survival-analysis was performed on the available individual patient time-to-first seizure data. Results: Sixteen studies with 575 patients fulfilled our eligibility criteria. The efficacy of LITT was 0.547 (95%CI: 0.506-0.588). Our statistical analysis had robust results after stratification according to the study population (Q2; p=0.3418), and the type of the utilized stereotactic platform (Q5; p=0.286), whereas the role of the TAV (Q3; p=0.058) and strength of the magnetic field (Q4; p=0.062) in seizure control remained unclear. The median seizure-free period (Q6) was 0.643 (0.569-0.726) and 0.467 (0.385-0.566) for the one- and the two-year follow up. Conclusions: LITT seems to offer a viable alternative to resective surgery, with a moderate efficacy and enduring results. Higher ablation volumes may be associated with improved seizure control, although our current study provided no statistically significant data. More high-quality studies are required to highlight the role of LITT in epilepsy surgery, particularly in the pediatric population.