1. Fractionated Stereotactic Radiotherapy of Vestibular Schwannomas Accelerates Hearing Loss
- Author
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Per Cayé-Thomasen, Magnus Claesson, Ib Jarle Christensen, Rune Rasmussen, Henrik Roed, Marianne Juhler, and Sven-Eric Stangerup
- Subjects
Adult ,Male ,Cancer Research ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Hearing loss ,medicine.medical_treatment ,Audiology ,Schwannoma ,Radiosurgery ,Stereotactic radiotherapy ,Hearing ,otorhinolaryngologic diseases ,Humans ,Medicine ,Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and imaging ,Prospective Studies ,Hearing Loss ,Cochlea ,Aged ,Retrospective Studies ,Aged, 80 and over ,Vestibular system ,Hearing preservation ,Radiation ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,business.industry ,Neuroma, Acoustic ,Middle Aged ,medicine.disease ,Tumor Burden ,Radiation therapy ,Oncology ,Female ,Dose Fractionation, Radiation ,Radiology ,medicine.symptom ,Audiometry ,business - Abstract
Objective To evaluate long-term tumor control and hearing preservation rates in patients with vestibular schwannoma treated with fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (FSRT), comparing hearing preservation rates to an untreated control group. The relationship between radiation dose to the cochlea and hearing preservation was also investigated. Methods and Materials Forty-two patients receiving FSRT between 1997 and 2008 with a minimum follow-up of 2 years were included. All patients received 54 Gy in 27-30 fractions during 5.5-6.0 weeks. Clinical and audiometry data were collected prospectively. From a "wait-and-scan" group, 409 patients were selected as control subjects, matched by initial audiometric parameters. Radiation dose to the cochlea was measured using the original treatment plan and then related to changes in acoustic parameters. Results Actuarial 2-, 4-, and 10-year tumor control rates were 100%, 91.5%, and 85.0%, respectively. Twenty-one patients had serviceable hearing before FSRT, 8 of whom (38%) retained serviceable hearing at 2 years after FSRT. No patients retained serviceable hearing after 10 years. At 2 years, hearing preservation rates in the control group were 1.8 times higher compared with the group receiving FSRT ( P =.007). Radiation dose to the cochlea was significantly correlated to deterioration of the speech reception threshold ( P =.03) but not to discrimination loss. Conclusion FSRT accelerates the naturally occurring hearing loss in patients with vestibular schwannoma. Our findings, using fractionation of radiotherapy, parallel results using single-dose radiation. The radiation dose to the cochlea is correlated to hearing loss measured as the speech reception threshold.
- Published
- 2012
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