Author Topic: Regrowth  (Read 1071 times)

Vivian B.

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Regrowth
« on: March 18, 2009, 03:15:47 pm »
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
CPA AN(most likely meningioma) 1.6cm by 1.5cm by 1.9cm diagnosed early March 09. Watch and Wait.

sgerrard

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Re: Regrowth
« Reply #1 on: March 18, 2009, 11:33:21 pm »
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
8 mm left AN June 2007,  CK at Stanford Sept 2007.
Hearing lasted a while, but left side is deaf now.
Right side is weak too. Life is quiet.