Radiosurgery Preserves Hearing in Acoustic Neuroma Patients

For Release: November 1, 1999

RADIOSURGERY PRESERVES HEARING AND AVOIDS DAMAGING FACIAL NERVES IN PATIENTS WITH ACOUSTIC NEUROMAS

Lower doses of radiation, combined with a technique called stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), can preserve hearing, avoid damage to facial nerves and still successfully treat acoustic neuromas, a new study shows.

The study of 192 patients found that lower dose radiosurgery (13 - 14 Gy rather than the previous standard of 16 Gy) can control acoustic neuromas (benign tumors that affect the nerve that controls hearing and balance) 99 percent of the time, says John Flickinger, M.D., professor of radiation oncology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in Pittsburgh, PA. Dr. Flickinger presented the study November 1 at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting in San Antonio, TX.

In addition, the study found that due to the lower doses, "we were able to preserve patients' hearing at pre-treatment levels in 73 percent of the patients," says Dr. Flickinger. Nine of the patients had improved hearing following radiosurgery -- six of those patients had been deaf in the affected ear and had their hearing return, Dr. Flickinger notes. "In a study we did previously, we found that microsurgery preserves hearing in only about 14 percent of patients," Dr. Flickinger says.

The study found that the risk of facial weakness (the face sags when the patient smiles) was less than two percent with radiosurgery. "In a previous study we found that 52 percent of patients treated with microsurgery suffered from delayed facial dysfunction," he says.

Radiosurgery and surgery also can cause facial numbness. "In the study, about three percent of the patients suffered some facial numbness, however, it wasn't bothersome to the patients," says Dr. Flickinger.

The study emphasizes that stereotactic radiosurgery should be the "first line of attack" in the treatment of small acoustic neuromas, says Dr. Flickinger.

The American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) is the largest radiation oncology society in the world, with more than 5,000 members. As a leading organization in radiation oncology, biology and physics, the society's goals are to advance the scientific base of radiation therapy and to extend the benefits of radiation therapy to those with cancer.

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