Stereotactic Radiosurgery Safe for Koos Grade I Vestibular Schwannomas

TUESDAY, Nov. 19, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is safe and effective for management of Koos grade I vestibular schwannomas (VS) compared with observation, according to a study published online Nov. 6 in Neurosurgery.

Othman Bin-Alamer, M.B.B.S., from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and colleagues evaluated the safety and efficacy of SRS versus observation for Koos grade I VS. The analysis included 142 patients.

During a median 36 months of follow-up, the researchers found that SRS significantly enhanced tumor control versus observation, with a 100 percent control rate at both five and eight years in the SRS group versus 48.6 and 29.5 percent in the observation group, respectively. At five and eight years, preservation of serviceable hearing outcomes between groups showed no significant differences (70.1 percent for SRS versus 53.4 percent for observation at five years). SRS was associated with a lower likelihood of tinnitus (odds ratio, 0.46), vestibular dysfunction (odds ratio, 0.17), and overall cranial nerve dysfunction (odds ratio, 0.49) at last follow-up.

"These findings support the safety and efficacy of SRS as a primary care approach for this patient population," the authors write. "Further prospective randomized studies are needed to validate these observations and delineate the superiority of SRS in this patient population."

Several authors disclosed ties to the biotechnology industry.

Abstract/Full Text