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. 2016 Jul-Aug;21(4):399-406.
doi: 10.1016/j.rpor.2016.02.002. Epub 2016 Feb 28.

Radiotherapy for vestibular schwannoma: Review of recent literature results

Giuseppina Apicella  1 , Marina Paolini  1 , Letizia Deantonio  2 , Laura Masini  1 , Marco Krengli  3
Affiliations

Radiotherapy for vestibular schwannoma: Review of recent literature results

Giuseppina Apicella et al. Rep Pract Oncol Radiother. 2016 Jul-Aug.

Abstract

Background: The management of vestibular schwannoma is still a quite controversial issue and can include wait and see policy, surgery and radiotherapy, mainly with stereotactic technique. The purpose of this study is to review the results of recent clinical series treated by radiotherapy.

Materials and methods: Literature search was performed by Pubmed and Scopus by using the words "vestibular schwannoma, acoustic neuroma, radiotherapy, radiosurgery".

Results: Management options of VS include wait and see, surgery and radiotherapy. In case of small lesions, literature data report local control rates higher than 90% after radiosurgery (SRS) similar those of surgical techniques. Recent literature reviews show favourable functional outcome by using SRS. Several literature data support the use of fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (FSRT) in case of large inoperable lesions.

Conclusion: Radiotherapy plays a relevant role in the treatment of VS. In small-size lesions, SRS can guarantee similar local control and potentially better function outcome compared to surgery. In case of large and irregularly shaped lesions, FSRT can be the used when surgery is not feasible.

Keywords: Acoustic neuroma; Radiotherapy; Stereotactic radiosurgery; Vestibular schwannoma.

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