Long-term follow-up of acoustic schwannoma radiosurgery with marginal tumor doses of 12 to 13 Gy.
OBJECTIVE
To define long-term tumor control and clinical outcomes of radiosurgery with marginal tumor doses of 12 to 13 Gy for unilateral acoustic schwannoma.


METHODS
A total of 216 patients with previously untreated unilateral acoustic schwannoma underwent Gamma Knife radiosurgery between 1992 and 2000 with marginal tumor doses of 12 to 13 Gy (median, 13 Gy). Median follow-up was 5.7 years (maximum, 12 years; 41 patients with >8 years). Treatment volumes were 0.08-37.5 cm(3) (median, 1.3 cm(3)).


RESULTS
The 10-year actuarial resection-free control rate was 98.3% +/- 1.0%. Three patients required tumor resection: 2 for tumor growth and 1 partial resection for an enlarging adjacent subarachnoid cyst. Among 121 hearing patients with >3 years of follow-up, crude hearing preservation rates were 71% for keeping the same Gardner-Robertson hearing level, 74% for serviceable hearing, and 95% for any testable hearing. For 25 of these patients with intracanalicular tumors, the respective rates for preserving the same Gardner-Robertson level, serviceable hearing, and testable hearing were 80%, 88%, and 96%. Ten-year actuarial rates for preserving the same Gardner-Robertson hearing levels, serviceable hearing, any testable hearing, and unchanged facial and trigeminal nerve function were 44.0% +/- 11.7%, 44.5% +/- 10.5%, 85.3% +/- 6.2%, 100%, and 94.9% +/- 1.8%, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Acoustic schwannoma radiosurgery with 12 to 13 Gy provides high rates of long-term tumor control and cranial nerve preservation after long-term follow-up.
Chopra
Rahul
R
Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
Kondziolka
Douglas
D
Niranjan
Ajay
A
Lunsford
L Dade
LD
Flickinger
John C
JC
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015897:Comorbidity; D003389:Cranial Nerve Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009464:Neuroma, Acoustic / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery*; D010414:Pennsylvania / Q000453:epidemiology; D011379:Prognosis; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000401:mortality*; D016634:Radiosurgery / Q000401:mortality*; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome