Gamma Knife Radiosurgery does not alter the copy number aberration profile in sporadic vestibular schwannoma

Journal of Neuro-Oncology - Ionizing radiation is a known etiologic factor in tumorigenesis and its role in inducing malignancy in the treatment of vestibular schwannoma has been debated. The...     

Prognostic Factor Analysis for Multiple Brain Metastases After Gamma Knife Radiosurgery: Results in 97 Patients

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SR) is being used with increasing frequency in the treatment of brain metastases. This study provides data from a clinical experience with radiosurgery in the treatment of cases with multiple metastases and identifies parameters that may be useful in the proper selection and therapy of these patients. From January 1993 to April 1997, 97 patients (43 women and 54 men; median age 58 years) suffering from multiple brain metastases (median 3; range 2–4) in MRI scans, received SR with the Gamma Knife. The median dose at the tumor margin was 20Gy (range 17–30Gy). Median tumor volume was 3900cmm (range 100–10000). Different forms of hemiparesis, focal and generalized seizures, cognitive deficit, headache, dizziness and ataxia had been the predominant neurological symptoms. Major histologies included lung carcinoma (44%), breast cancer (21%), renal cell carcinoma (10%), colorectal cancer (8%), and melanoma (7%).The median survival time was 6 months after SR. The actual one-year survival rate was 26%. In univariate and multivariate analysis, a higher Karnofsky performance rating and absence of extracranial metastases had a significantly positive effect on survival. Local tumor control was achieved in 94% of the patients. Complications included the onset of peritumoral edema (n=5) and necrosis (n=1).SR induces a significant tumor remission accompanied by neurological improvement and, therefore, provides the opportunity for prolonged high quality survival. We conclude that radiosurgical treatment of multiple brain metastases leads to an equivalent rate of survival when compared to the historic experience of patients treated with whole brain radiotherapy. Patients presenting initially with a higher Karnofsky performance rating and without extracranial metastases had a median survival time of nine months. Each such case should therefore be evaluated based on these factors to determine an optimal treatment regimen.     

伽玛刀联合放疗对脑转移瘤的疗效及不良反应

目的探讨伽玛刀联合放疗在脑转移瘤治疗中的疗效及不良反应。方法将60例脑转移瘤患者随机分为观察组和对照组,各组为30例,对照组采用单纯全脑放疗方案治疗,观察组基于放疗基础上,联合立体定向放射治疗(伽玛刀治疗SRT)。观察和比较两组患者的近期疗效(治疗有效率)、化疗前后的CD4^+水平及CD4^+/CD8^+比值、毒副作用发生率。结果与对照组(66.67%)对比,观察组临床有效率(93.33%)明显更高,差异具有统计学意义,P<0.05。与治疗前对比,两组CD4^+水平明显降低,CD4^+/CD8^+比值明显上升,比较差异具有统计学意义,P<0.05;与对照组治疗后对比,观察组治疗后CD4^+水平和CD4^+/CD8^+比值,差异无统计学意义,P>0.05。在观察组中,治疗前与治疗后的外周血白细胞计数、红细胞、血红蛋白,差异不存在统计学意义,P>0.05;在对照组中,治疗前与治疗后的外周血白细胞计数、红细胞、血红蛋白,差异具有统计学的意义,P<0.05;与对照组对比,观察组治疗后外周血白细胞计数、红细胞、血红蛋白,差异具有统计学的意义,P<0.05。观察组与对照组不良反应发生率无明显差异,P>0.05。其不良反应以轻度不良反应为主,包括消瘦、消化道反应、水肿、脱发等。结论全脑放疗联合伽马刀治疗,可有效地降低损伤,预防新病灶的出现,缩小转移瘤的体积,二者相结合,可弥补彼此的不足,共同控制和提高肿瘤的疗效,并且促使脑损伤降低至最低程度。     

Gamma Knife Stereotactic Radiosurgery favorably changes the clinical course of hemangioblastoma growth in von Hippel-Lindau and sporadic patients

Journal of Neuro-Oncology - This is the first single-institution study of its size to characterize the treatment impact and to address the question of whether hemangioblastoma treatment with Gamma...     

Validation of the Chowdhury overall survival score in patients with melanoma brain metastasis treated with Gamma Knife Radiosurgery

Melanoma brain metastases (MBM) are common in patients with stage IV disease. For Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS) on MBM, risk scores such as RPA and melanoma-GPA aid to identify prognostic subgroups. This study aimed to validate the overall survival (OS) risk score developed by Chowdhury et al. in our center’s patient cohort. A total of 104 MBM patients were treated with GKRS between 1/1/2002 and 31/12/2014 in our institution. Patients were categorized according to RPA, melanoma-GPA and Chowdhury OS score. The Kaplan–Meier method was used to estimate overall survival, and predicted survival probabilities were calculated for calibration. Cox proportional hazards regressions were performed to identify additional risk factors. Overall, median follow-up time was 80 months, while median OS (mOS) after GKRS was 6 months. Stratified according to the Chowdhury OS score, mOS in the high, medium and low risk group was 3.4, 7.1, and 10.0 months, respectively. The addition of other patient or disease characteristics to the Chowdhury OS model did not improve its performance. The C-index of the melanoma-GPA was 0.46 while the Chowdhury OS had an index of 0.67. In comparison with the RPA and melanoma-GPA, the Chowdhury OS score more accurately distinguished between separate risk groups among patients with MBM treated with GKRS. Contrary to the original study by Chowdhury, follow-up time was sufficient here for the low-risk group to reach the mOS time of 10 months.     

Group and Individual Change in Cognitive Functioning in Patients With 1 to 10 Brain Metastases Following Gamma Knife Radiosurgery

AimsStereotactic radiosurgery is increasingly used to treat multiple (four or more) brain metastases. Preserving cognitive functions is a highly relevant treatment goal because cognitive deteriorations may negatively affect a patient's quality of life. The aim of this study was to assess cognitive change, at the group and individual level, in patients with 1 to 10 brain metastases up to 9 months after Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS).Materials and methodsNinety-two patients with 1 to 10 newly diagnosed brain metastases, expected survival >3 months and Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) ≥70 and 104 non-cancer controls were included. A neuropsychological test battery was administered before GKRS (n = 92) and at 3 (n = 66), 6 (n = 52) and 9 (n = 41) months after GKRS. The course of test performances, while taking into account practice effects, was analysed using linear mixed models. Pre-GKRS predictors of cognitive trajectories were analysed. To determine proportions of individuals with cognitive changes, reliable change indices, with correction for practice effects, were calculated.ResultsAt the group level, immediate memory, working memory and information processing speed significantly improved over 9 months after GKRS. There were no cognitive declines. Neither number nor volume of brain metastases influenced cognitive change over time. At the individual level, proportions of patients with stable, improved or declined performances were comparable with controls, except for information processing speed (more individuals with improvements in patients) and motor dexterity (more improvements and declines in patients).ConclusionsCognitive functioning in patients with 1 to 10 brain metastases was preserved, or improved, up to 9 months after GKRS. Neither number nor volume of brain metastases influenced cognitive performance.     

伽玛刀治疗儿童颅咽管瘤临床研究

背景与目的:颅咽管瘤是先天性良性肿瘤,多发于儿童。由于肿瘤位于脑深部、与重要神经结构毗邻,手术切除并发症严重,死亡率高。手术残余肿瘤,术后易于复发,最终导致不良后果。Mckissock(1960)、Kramer(1961)等报告,次全切除手术加放射治疗可延缓肿瘤复发,有利于提高生存率。但放疗缺乏精确定位,儿童对射线耐受性差,更易发生视通路,下丘脑等放射性损伤并发症。伽玛刀这项立体定向放射技术,具有定位精确,创伤小,并发症少的优点。方法:1997年1月至2007年1月,成都空军医院应用伽玛刀治疗15岁以下的颅咽管瘤患者55例。立体定向术、开颅手术 伽玛刀40例;单纯伽玛刀治疗15例。37例行分次(2次)伽玛刀治疗,分次治疗边缘剂量8～10Gy,中心剂量16～22.2Gy,两次治疗间隔时间6～8个月。18例行单次伽玛刀治疗,边缘剂量12～16Gy,中心剂量26～32Gy。结果:55例中,40例获得1～10年随访,平均随访期5.7年。肿瘤消失、缩小33例(82.5%)、无变化4例、增大3例。8例(20.0%)治疗后1.5～8年(平均4.6年)肿瘤复发,接受手术治疗或再次伽玛刀治疗。40例中,生存5年及5年以上的共27例(67.5%)。全组无治疗并发症、无死亡。结论:对于儿童颅咽管瘤患者,无论手术肿瘤全切,或放疗,均具有高并发症,高死亡率的风险。本组结果提示,伽玛刀治疗儿童颅咽管瘤,具有确切的疗效。且创伤小,安全、并发症少。应选择手术残留肿瘤;向鞍上发展的无视力视野障碍者;肿瘤突入三脑室、中脑脚间池的实性肿瘤,梗阻性脑积水已作处理,或囊性肿瘤囊液已抽吸分流者。     

The role of Gamma Knife Radiosurgery in the management of unresectable gross disease or gross residual disease after surgery in ependymoma

SummaryPurpose/Objective To evaluate the efficacy and the toxicity of Gamma Knife (GK)-based stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) in the management of gross disease in ependymoma.Materials and methods Eight patients with 13 ependymomas were treated with GK-based SRS in our institution for gross disease. Five patients were treated for recurrent disease that developed after surgery and external beam radiotherapy (EBRT), two received SRS to the gross disease after surgery and EBRT, and one received SRS alone (in a 1.3 year old child). Median EBRT dose was 54.4 Gy (range 50–55.8 Gy). Median SRS dose was 14 Gy (range 12–20 Gy). Seven of eight (87.5%) patients had SRS to a single lesion and one of eight (12.5%) patients had treatment to six tumors in three different sessions.Results The median follow up was 30.2 months (range 8–65.4 months). Out of the eight patients treated with SRS, six (75%) were alive, four (50%) were alive with no recurrence, two (25%) were alive with recurrence, and two (25%) died of recurrent disease. Both patients treated with SRS as a boost were alive and without recurrence. Out of the five patients who received SRS as salvage treatment, three (60%) were alive, two (40%) were alive without recurrence, two (40%) developed distant failure, and three (60%) had in-field control. Two patients who received SRS to their brainstem lesions developed symptoms related to radionecrosis and were successfully treated with steroid with good control of symptoms.Conclusions GK-based SRS appears to be a feasible and safe treatment modality for patients with ependymoma with unresectable gross disease or gross residual disease after surgery. SRS provides reasonable local control but out-of-field tumor progression remains an issue. For patients who receive SRS as a boost, the local control appears to be excellent. This paper has been presented in the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology Meeting in Denver, CO in October 2005.     

Outcomes of Gamma Knife surgery for craniopharyngiomas

Gamma Knife surgery (GKS) has emerged as a valuable adjuvant treatment modality for recurrent or residual craniopharyngioma. However, prognostic factors pertaining to progression-free survival (PFS) remain poorly understood. A study was conducted to address this issue. A total of 37 consecutive patients undergoing 39 sessions of GKS procedures targeting the solid portions of the tumors at our institution between 1989 and 2005 were analyzed. Twenty-one male and 16 female patients comprised this study. Median age at GKS was 36 years (range, 4–78). Median tumor volume was 1.6 cm³ (range, 0.1–18.6), median marginal dose was 14.5 Gy (range, 6–25), and median maximal dose was 30 Gy (range, 15.6–60). Median follow-up was 50 months (range, 8–212). Univariate and multivariate analyses using Cox proportional hazards model were employed to identify the potential prognostic factors including tumor volume, marginal dose, gender, age at GKS, and status of visual field defect (VFD) in terms of in-field PFS. The actuarial 3- and 5-year in-field PFS were 84.8 and 67.0%, respectively. On univariate analysis, absence of VFD at GKS was a favorable prognostic factor (hazard ratio: 0.279; 95% CI, 0.085–0.913, P = 0.035), whereas on multivariate analysis, absence of VFD at GKS, tumor volume ≤1.6 cm³, and marginal dose >14.5 Gy related to a longer in-field PFS. GKS may offer reasonable control of recurrent or residual craniopharyngiomas. There was a consistent correlation between absence of VFD at the time of GKS and in-field PFS.     

Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery for intracranial hemangiopericytomas

The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery (GK SRS) for intracranial hemangiopericytomas, and to investigate the optimal dose for successful tumor control without adverse effects. We evaluated 17 hemangiopericytomas of nine patients treated with GK SRS between 1999 and 2008. The mean tumor volume was 2.2 cm³ (range 0.2–9.9 cm³), and the mean and median marginal doses were 18.1 and 20 Gy (range 11–22 Gy), respectively, at the 50% isodose line. Mean clinical and radiological follow-up periods were 49 and 34 months, respectively. Successful tumor control was achieved in 14 of 17 lesions (82.4%) at time of last follow-up after GK SRS. Actuarial local tumor control rates at 1, 2, and 5 years after GK SRS were 100%, 84.6%, and 67.7%, respectively. No adverse effects, such as radiation necrosis or marked peritumoral edema, were observed in any patient. Marginal dose (≥17 Gy) was the only statistically significant factor for local tumor control on univariate analysis. Extended analysis using lesion data available from previous studies revealed that higher marginal dose (≥17 Gy) was also significant (P = 0.028). GK SRS provides an effective and safe adjuvant management option for patients with recurrent or residual hemangiopericytomas. Our results suggest that doses higher than previously used (around 15 Gy) are desirable to achieve better local tumor control of hemangiopericytomas. Close radiological follow-up is also necessary for early detection of small recurrent lesions.     

Gamma Knife radiosurgery for occipital condyle metastasis

We present a 45 year old female with right occipital condylar metastases who was treated at William Beaumont Hospital in the Gamma Knife Unit. Clinical results at 17 months follow-up and MRI are exposed.