Gamma knife surgery for vestibular schwannoma: 10-year experience of 195 cases (original) (raw)

Gamma Knife radiosurgery for vestibular schwannomas: evaluation of tumor control and its predictors in a large patient cohort in The Netherlands

Journal of Neurosurgery, 2016

G amma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS) has become a widely accepted primary treatment modality for small-to medium-size vestibular schwannomas (VSs). Although rates of tumor control after radiosurgery are comparable to those after microsurgery, the advantages of radiosurgery, apart from being a less invasive procedure, include better preservation of cranial nerve (CN) function and of serviceable hearing. 11,20 In the early radiosurgery era, marginal radiation doses as high as 20-70 Gy were applied. 21 This dosage was gradually reduced to 12-13 Gy, after it was shown that lower marginal doses achieved equivalent tumor control but resulted in significantly lower complication rates. 12,18 The first GKRS treatment for VS in the Gamma Knife abbreviatioNs CN = cranial nerve; GKRS = Gamma Knife radiosurgery; VS = vestibular schwannoma.

Gamma Knife radiosurgery for vestibular schwannoma: clinical results at long-term follow-up in a series of 379 patients

Journal of neurosurgery, 2014

Since the 1990 s, Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS) has become the first-line treatment option for small- to medium-size vestibular schwannomas (VSs), especially in patients without mass effect-related symptoms and with functional hearing. The aim of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of GKRS, in terms of tumor control, hearing preservation, and complications, in a series of 379 consecutive patients treated for VS. Of 523 patients treated at the authors' institution for VS between 2001 and 2010, the authors included 379 who underwent GKRS as the primary treatment. These patients were not affected by Type 2 neurofibromatosis and had clinical follow-up of at least 36 months. Clinical follow-up (mean and median 75.7 and 69.5 months, respectively) was performed for all patients, whereas audiometric and quantitative radiological follow-up examinations were obtained for only 153 and 219 patients, respectively. The patients' ages ranged from 23 to 85 years (mean 59 year...

Follow-up after gamma knife radiosurgery for vestibular schwannomas

The Laryngoscope, 2011

Objectives/Hypothesis: A prospective long-term follow-up study was conducted to evaluate the results of gamma knife radiosurgery (GKRS) for vestibular schwannoma (VS) patients. Both axial and volumetric measurements are used to determine tumor size during follow-up.

Acute clinical adverse radiation effects after Gamma Knife surgery for vestibular schwannomas

Journal of neurosurgery, 2016

OBJECTIVE Vestibular schwannomas (VSs) represent a common indication of Gamma Knife surgery (GKS). While most studies focus on the long-term morbidity and adverse radiation effects (AREs), none describe the acute clinical AREs that might appear on a short-term basis. These types of events are investigated, and their incidence, type, and outcomes are reported in the present paper. METHODS The included patients were treated between July 2010 and March 2016, underwent at least 6 months of follow-up, and presented with a disabling symptom during the first 6 months after GKS that affected their quality of life. The timing of appearance, as well as the type of main symptom and outcome, were noted. The prescribed dose was 12 Gy at the margin. RESULTS Thirty-five (22%) of 159 patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria had acute clinical AREs. The mean followup period was 30 months (range 6-49.2 months). The mean time of appearance was 37.9 days (median 31 days; range 3-110 days). In pati...

Repeated treatment of vestibular schwannomas after gamma knife radiosurgery

Acta Neurochirurgica, 2009

Purpose When gamma knife radiosurgery (GKS) does not achieve control of the growth of a tumour, the need to repeat treatment is considered. The results and risks of repeat treatment of patients with a vestibular schwannoma were reviewed to assess its efficacy and safety. Methods Between 1992 and 2001, we treated 351 patients with a vestibular schwannoma by GKS, control of the growth of the tumour was not achieved in 32. 26 patients underwntrepeat GKS and five patients had an open microsurgical operation and one stereotactic aspiration of a tumour cyst. Results Twenty-four of 26 patients were followed up after the repeat GKS for a median of 43 months. 15 tumours became smaller, seven remained unchanged and two enlarged. After the second GKS one patient's hearing deteriorated, one developed facial weakness and three facial spasms. One patient required insertion of ventriculoperitoneal drainage. An operation to radically resect the tumour was performed in five patients after the first GKS and for a subtotal removal in one after repeated GKS. Conclusions In the small proportion of patients (9%) in whom initial GKS does not control the growth of a vestibular schwannoma, most can be controlled by further GKS with a very low risk of a complications.

Control of growth of vestibular schwannomas with low-dose Gamma Knife surgery

Journal of neurosurgery, 2006

The treatment of solitary vestibular schwannomas by performing Gamma Knife surgery is well established. It has been reported that decreasing the surface dose reduces patient morbidity, especially facial weakness and numbness. The authors of this retrospective study examine patient data from a single center to determine if low-dose (< or = 14 Gy) GKS controls tumor growth as effectively as higher doses (> 14 Gy). Based on the formula for ellipsoid volumes, the tumor volumes were calculated using measurements from MR images obtained at follow up in patients treated at the authors' center. Follow-up data were available in 159 patients with a mean age of 59.5 +/- 14.2 years at treatment. Fifty-six percent of the patients were women and 53.5% of the tumors were located on the right side of the brain. The mean tumor volume was 3.3 +/- 4.3 cm3 with 10% of the tumors having volumes larger than 8 cm3. After GKS, smaller tumors (> or = 40% decrease in volume) were observed in 44....

Gamma Knife Radiosurgery for Vestibular Schwannomas

2011

The current gamma knife radiosurgery technique involves the use of magnetic resonance imaging for targeting, the application of a low marginal dose (usually between 12 and 13 Gy) and highly conformal treatment planning using multiple small isocenters. This technique achieves an average tumor control rate of 95% and open surgery is needed in fewer than 2 to 3% of patients treated by gamma knife. Facial nerve function preservation is achieved in up to 99% of cases and chance of preserving serviceable hearing is usually between a 70 to 80%. The introduction of ventriculoperitoneal drainage after radiosurgery is required for 1 to 8% of patients. Gamma knife radiosurgery can be treatment of choice for the patients, where the diameter of the tumor is less than 3 cm.

Gamma Knife surgery for large vestibular schwannomas: a single-center retrospective case-matched comparison assessing the effect of lesion size

Journal of Neurosurgery, 2013

Object Gamma Knife surgery (GKS) is a safe and effective treatment for patients with small to moderately sized vestibular schwannomas (VSs). Reports of stereotactic radiosurgery for large VSs have demonstrated worse tumor control and preservation of neurological function. The authors endeavored to assess the effect of size of VSs treated using GKS. Methods This study was a retrospective comparison of 24 patients with large VSs (> 3 cm in maximum diameter) treated with GKS compared with 49 small VSs (≤ 3 cm) matched for age, sex, radiosurgical margin and maximal doses, length of follow-up, and indication. Results Actuarial tumor progression-free survival (PFS) for the large VS cohort was 95.2% and 81.8% at 3 and 5 years, respectively, compared with 97% and 90% for small VSs (p = 0.009). Overall clinical outcome was better in small VSs compared with large VSs (p < 0.001). Patients with small VSs presenting with House-Brackmann Grade I (good facial function) had better neurologic...

Retreatment of vestibular schwannoma with Gamma Knife radiosurgery: clinical outcome, tumor control, and review of literature

Journal of neurosurgery, 2017

OBJECTIVE Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS) has become an accepted treatment for vestibular schwannoma, with a high rate of tumor control and good clinical outcome. In a small number of cases, additional treatment is needed. This retrospective study examines the clinical outcome, reproducibility of volumetric response patterns, and tumor control rate after administering a second GKRS to treat vestibular schwannomas. METHODS A total of 38 patients were included: 28 patients underwent a radiosurgical procedure as the initial treatment (Group 1), and 10 patients underwent microsurgical resection with adjuvant radiosurgery on the tumor remnant as the initial treatment (Group 2). The indication for a second GKRS treatment was growth observed on follow-up imaging. The median margin dose was 11.0 Gy for the first procedure and 11.5 Gy for the second procedure. Tumor control after retreatment was assessed through volumetric analysis. Clinical outcome was assessed through medical chart review....

Gamma knife radiosurgery for large vestibular schwannomas: a Canadian experience

The Canadian journal of neurological sciences. Le journal canadien des sciences neurologiques, 2013

To review our institutional experience with Gamma Knife (GK) stereotactic radiosurgery in treating large vestibular schwannomas (VS) of 3 to 4 cm diameter. We conducted a retrospective cohort review of all patients treated with GK for VS at our institution between November 2003 and March 2012. Data on age, sex, VS volume, location and maximal diameter, House-Brackmann (HB) facial nerve scores pre and post-GK, Gardner-Robertson (GR) hearing score pre and post-GK, GK treatment parameters, VS response time, complications and clinical outcome was recorded A total of 28 patients during the defined time period were identified. Three patients were lost to follow-up. Mean follow-up was 34.5 months. Tumor control occurred in 92%, and was maintained in 85.7% at two years. Facial nerve or hearing preservation occurred in all treated compared to pre-GK status, as per HB and GR grading. Transient complications occurred in 80%. Temporary vestibular dysfunction occurred in seven patients (28%). On...