ANA Discussion Forum
General Category => AN Issues => Topic started by: Vivian B. on March 18, 2009, 03:15:47 pm
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Hi everyone,
I was wondering if anyone had any statistics of regrowth after they have had gamma knife treatment? I am watch and wait now, next MRI in 6 months. Just wondering and weighing all options like everyone else.
Vivian
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You can get a lot of good basic information about Gammaknife, including tumor control rates, from the website at U. Pittsburgh:
http://www.acousticneuroma.neurosurgery.pitt.edu/index.html
A more recent summary in the Journal of Neurosurgery includes this comment:
We make this assertion because the long-term tumor control rates (90% of tumors were unchanged or smaller; 99% required no further surgical intervention during the follow up) and the cranial nerve morbidity rates (0.7% with doses used since 1994) greatly exceed the published results of even the most experienced surgeons.
http://thejns.org/doi/full/10.3171/jns.2006.105.5.655
There is a difference between not growing at all (the 90% figure above), and not growing enough to need further treatment (the 99% figure above).
My view is that it is really quite good, though not perfect.
Steve