Role of radiation therapy in treating intracranial meningiomas.
Surgery is the mainstay for many patients with meningiomas, and it remains the standard. In large single-institution series, gross-total resection has been reported to achieve 5-, 10-, and 15-year recurrence-free survival rates of approximately 90, 80, and 70%, respectively. There are a growing number of series of patients with prolonged follow-up in which authors have evaluated fractionated external-beam radiation therapy (EBRT) either as an adjuvant to surgery for subtotally resected, recurrent, or higher-grade meningiomas, or as an alternative to surgery. The primary focus of this review is EBRT, but to lend perspective, a comparative analysis of surgery and radiosurgery is also provided.
Rogers
Leland
L
GammaWest Radiation Therapy, Salt Lake City, Utah 84102, USA. leland@gammawest.com
Mehta
Minesh
M
D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery; D019583:Dose Fractionation, Radiation; D006801:Humans; D008577:Meningeal Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery; D008579:Meningioma / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery; D016634:Radiosurgery; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant