Abstract
BACKGROUND
Vestibular schwannomas (VS) are tumors of the cerebellopontine angle with significant morbidity, causing hearing loss, tinnitus, and trigeminal and facial nerve compromise. Surgical resection is complex and often results in comorbidities, with radiation therapy being used to achieve tumor control. Both single dose stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and, in recent years, hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (hSRT), where a total 18-25 Gy dose is given in approximately 3-5 fractions, have been utilized. It remains unclear, however, how each of these approaches fares compared to the other.
METHODS
Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Cochrane Reviews were searched for studies either comparing hSRT with SRS or focusing on hSRT alone for the treatment of VS. Primary endpoints included tumor control, serviceable hearing, presence of tinnitus, and facial and trigeminal nerve symptoms. A random effects analysis was employed to compare pre- and post-treatment effects (hSRT alone) or SRS and hSRT outcomes (two-arm studies).
RESULTS
This analysis included 21 studies focusing on hSRT alone and 13 studies comparing SRS and hSRT. Significant heterogeneity was observed. Overall, when hSRT was analyzed alone, crude tumor control was achieved in 93% of 1571 patients at average follow-up of 49.9 months. There was no difference intra-group between pre- and post-treatment odds ratios (OR) of tinnitus, facial, or trigeminal impairment. However, serviceable hearing was diminished following hSRT (OR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.44, 0.83, p = 0.002). Comparison with SRS showed no difference with respect to tumor control (p = 0.84), serviceable hearing (p = 0.65), trigeminal impairment (p = 0.96), or facial nerve impairment (p = 0.32).
CONCLUSIONS
hSRT achieved excellent tumor control and, with the exception of serviceable hearing, did not result in worse cranial nerve symptomatology. Analyzing two-arm studies showed that hSRT is a treatment modality comparable to SRS with respect to tumor control and cranial nerve comorbidities.