Brachytherapy for intracranial meningioma using a permanently implanted iodine-125 seed.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the response and complications of iodine-125 brachytherapy for the treatment of recurrent and newly diagnosed meningiomas. Clinical cases of 2 patients treated with this method are presented.


METHODS
Thirteen patients with primary and recurrent intracranial meningioma were treated by frameless stereotactic implantation of iodine-125 seeds from January 1996 to June 1998. The total dose to decay ranged from 7,000 to 17,000 cGy, with a dose rate of 5-10 cGy/h.


RESULTS
All 11 evaluable patients had a decrease or stabilization in the size of their lesions as detected by MRI during follow-up. There were no acute complications. All patients who received a total dose greater than 10,000 cGy had postoperative radiation necrosis and/or vasogenic edema while only 20% of the patients who received doses of 10,000 cGy or less had radiation changes (p = 0.002).


CONCLUSIONS
MRI-guided stereotactically assisted permanent implantation of iodine-125 seeds seems to be a safe, effective and noncomplicated method for the treatment of primary and recurrent meningiomas for selected patients, when doses are limited to 10,000 cGy.
Obasi
Patrick C
PC
Howard University College of Medicine, Washington, DC, USA.
Barnett
Gene H
GH
Suh
John H
JH
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001918:Brachytherapy / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008577:Meningeal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D008579:Meningioma / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D038361:Neuronavigation / Q000379:methods
D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes