Object

In this study the authors address the efficacy and safety of Gamma Knife surgery (GKS) in patients with adrenocorticotropic hormone–secreting pituitary adenomas.

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评估收集的数据从一个未来的门将database between January 1990 and March 2005 was performed in patients with Cushing's disease. All but one patient underwent resection for a pituitary tumor, without achieving remission. Successful endocrine outcome after GKS was defined as a normal 24-hour urinary free cortisol (UFC) concentration posttreatment after a minimum of 1 year of follow up. Patient records were also evaluated for changes in tumor volume, development of new hormone deficiencies, visual acuity, cranial nerve neuropathies, and radiation-induced imaging changes. Ninety evaluable patients had undergone GKS, with a mean endocrine follow-up duration of 45 months (range 12–132 months). The mean dose to the tumor margin was 23 Gy (median 25 Gy).

Normal 24-hour UFC levels were achieved in 49 patients (54%), with an average time of 13 months after treatment (range 2–67 months). In the 49 patients in whom a tumor was visible on the planning magnetic resonance (MR) image, a decrease in tumor size occurred in 39 (80%), in seven patients there was no change in size, and tumor growth occurred in three patients. Ten patients (20%) experienced a relapse of Cushing's disease after initial remission; the mean time to recurrence was 27 months (range 6–60 months). Seven of these patients underwent repeated GKS, with three patients achieving a second remission. New hormone deficiencies developed in 20 patients (22%), with hypothyroidism being the most common endocrinopathy after GKS. Five patients experienced new visual deficits or third, fourth, or sixth cranial nerve deficits; two of these patients had undergone prior conventional fractionated radiation therapy, and four of them had received previous GKS. Radiation-induced changes were observed on MR images in three patients; one had symptoms attributable to these changes.

Conclusions

Gamma Knife surgery is an effective treatment for persistent Cushing's disease. Adenomas with cavernous sinus invasion that are not amenable to resection are treatable with the Gamma Knife. A second GKS treatment appears to increase the risk of cranial nerve damage. These results demonstrate the value of combining two neurosurgical treatment modalities—microsurgical resection and GKS—in the management of pituitary adenomas.

Object

The authors reviewed outcomes after stereotactic radiosurgery for patients with acromegaly and analyzed factors associated with biochemical remission.

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Retrospective analysis was performed for 46 consecutive cases of growth hormone (GH)–producing pituitary adenomas treated by radiosurgery between 1991 and 2004. Biochemical remission was defined as a fasting GH less than 2 ng/ml and a normal age- and sex-adjusted insulin-like growth factor–I (IGF-I) level while patients were not receiving any pituitary suppressive medications. The median follow up after radiosurgery was 63 months (range 22–168 months).

Twenty-three patients (50%) had biochemical remission documented at a median of 36 months (range 6–63 months) after one radiosurgical procedure. The actuarial rates of biochemical remission at 2 and 5 years after radiosurgery were 11 and 60%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that IGF-I levels less than 2.25 times the upper limit of normal (hazard ratio [HR] 2.9, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.2–6.9, p = 0.02) and the absence of pituitary suppressive medications at the time of radiosurgery (HR 4.2, 95% CI 1.4–13.2, p = 0.01) correlated with biochemical remission. The incidence of new anterior pituitary deficits was 10% at 2 years and 33% at 5 years.

Conclusions

Discontinuation of pituitary suppressive medications at least 1 month before radiosurgery significantly improved endocrine outcomes for patients with acromegaly. Patients with GH–producing pituitary adenomas should not undergo further radiation therapy or surgery for at least 5 years after radiosurgery because GH and IGF-I levels continue to normalize over that interval.

Object

伽玛刀手术(GK的结果信息S) for patients harboring trigeminal schwannomas is limited because these tumors are rare. The authors evaluated tumor control and functional outcomes in patients who underwent GKS for trigeminal schwannomas to clarify the efficacy of this treatment.

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Forty-two patients with trigeminal schwannomas but no evidence of neurofibromatosis Type 2 were treated with GKS at Komaki City Hospital between November 1991 and December 2003. Of these, 37 patients were assessed. The mean tumor volume in these patients was 10 cm³．平均最大辐射剂量指示tumor was 27.9 Gy and the mean dose directed to the tumor margin was 14.2 Gy. The mean follow-up period was 54 months. In four patients (11%) there was complete tumor remission; in 20 (54%) there was partial tumor remission; in eight (22%) the disease remained stable; and in five (14%) the tumor enlarged or uncontrollable facial pain developed with radiation-induced edema requiring resection. The actuarial 5- and 10-year tumor control rates were both 84%. With respect to functional outcomes, 40% of patients noted an improvement in their symptoms, and one patient experienced new symptoms despite good tumor control.

Conclusions

Gamma Knife surgery was a safe and effective treatment for a select group of patients harboring trigeminal schwannomas. Large tumors that compress the brainstem and cause deviation of the fourth ventricle should first be removed surgically and any remnant should be treated by GKS.

Object

The aim of this study was to assess the clinical efficacy of gamma knife surgery (GKS) in the treatment of dural arteriovenous shunts (DAVSs).

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From a database of more than 1600 patients with intracranial arteriovenous shunts that had been treated with GKS, the authors retrospectively and prospectively identified 53 patients with 58 DAVSs from the period between 1978 and 2003. Four patients were lost to follow-up evaluation and were excluded from the series. Thus, this study is based on the remaining 49 patients with 52 DAVSs. Thirty-six of the shunts drained into the cortical venous system, either directly or indirectly, and 22 of these were associated with intracranial hemorrhage on patient presentation. The mean prescription radiation dose was 22 Gy (range 10–28 Gy).

All patients underwent a clinical follow-up examination. In 41 cases of DAVS a follow-up angiography study was performed. At the 2-year follow-up visit, 28 cases (68%) had angiographically proven obliteration of the shunt and in another 10 cases (24%) there was significant flow regression. Three shunts remained unchanged.

There was one immediate minor complication related to the administration of radiation. Furthermore, one patient had a radiation-induced complication 10 years after treatment, although she recovered completely. There was one posterior fossa bleed 2 months after radiosurgery; a hematoma, as well as a lesion, was evacuated, and the patient recovered uneventfully. A second patient had an asymptomatic occipital hemorrhage approximately 6 months postradiosurgery.

The clinical outcome after GKS was significantly better than that in patients with naturally progressing shunts (p < 0.01, chi-square test); figures on the latter have been reported previously.

Conclusions

Gamma knife surgery is an effective treatment for DAVSs, with a low risk of complications. Major disadvantages of this therapy include the time elapsed before obliteration and the possibility that not all shunts will be obliterated. Cortical venous drainage from a DAVS, a risk factor for intracranial hemorrhage, is therefore a relative contraindication. Consequently, GKS can be used in the treatment of both benign DAVSs with subjectively intolerable bruit and aggressive DAVSs not responsive to endovascular treatment or surgery.

Object

The authors report on a retrospective analysis of the imaging and clinical outcomes following gamma surgery in 100 patients with nonsecretory pituitary macroadenoma.

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Between June 1989 and March 2004, 100 consecutive patients with nonsecretory pituitary macroadenoma were treated at the Lars Leksell Center for Gamma Surgery, University of Virginia Health System (Charlottesville, VA). Ninety-two patients had residual or recurrent macroadenoma following one or more surgical procedures. In eight patients, gamma surgery was the primary treatment. Ten patients received conventional fractionated radiotherapy before the gamma surgery. Sixty-nine patients required hormone replacement therapy for one or more deficits before gamma knife treatment. Peripheral doses between 5 and 25 Gy (mean 18.5 Gy) were administered.

Imaging and endocrinological follow-up evaluations were performed in 90 patients; these studies ranged from 6 to 142 months (mean 44.9 months) and 6 to 127 months (mean 47.9 months), respectively. Tumor volume decreased in 59 patients (65.6%), remained unchanged in 24 (26.7%), and increased in seven (7.8%). The minimal effective peripheral dose was 12 Gy; peripheral doses greater than 20 Gy did not seem to provide additional benefit. Of 61 patients with a partially or fully functioning pituitary gland and follow-up data, 12 (19.7%) suffered new hormone deficits following gamma surgery. In patients with endocrinological follow-up data that had been collected over more than 2 years, the rate of new deficits was 25%. No neurological morbidity or death was related to treatment.

Conclusions

Current experience suggests that gamma surgery is an appropriate means of managing recurrent or residual nonsecretory pituitary macroadenoma following microsurgery and a primary treatment in selected patients. To evaluate definite rates of recurrence and new endocrine deficiencies, long-term follow-up studies are needed.

Object

Stereotactic radiosurgery is an alternative to conventional surgery for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia. The authors conducted a prospective evaluation of the safety and efficacy of this method in a large series of patients.

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A total of 100 patients presenting with trigeminal neuralgia were treated and followed up for a minimum of 12 months. The mean age was 68.2 years; 54 patients were male, and 46 were female. Seven had a history of multiple sclerosis, and 42 had already received conventional surgical treatment for trigeminal neuralgia. The intervention consisted of gamma knife surgery to the retrogasserian cisternal portion of the fifth cranial nerve. The median dose used at the maximum was 85 Gy (range 70–90 Gy). The number and intensity of pain attacks were recorded by the patient from 3 months before radiosurgery to a minimum of 12 months after treatment. Before and a minimum of 12 months after treatment, the patient completed a quality-of-life questionnaire. Neurological examination and quantitative sensory testing to evaluate sensory perception were performed by an independent neurologist over this same time period.

At the last visit 83 of 100 patients were reported to be pain free. Fifty-eight of these 83 patients had stopped taking medication during the study. All quality-of-life parameters were improved (p < 0.001). Six patients reported facial paresthesia, and four patients reported hypesthesia. These symptoms were classified as mild. None of the complications reported for other techniques were observed.

Conclusions

Radiosurgery is a safe and effective alternative treatment for trigeminal neuralgia and is associated with a particularly low rate of hypesthesia.

Object

The authors analyzed the long-term outcomes of gamma knife surgery (GKS) for residual or recurrent craniopharyngiomas after microsurgery and the effects of dose reduction.

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A total of 107 patients with craniopharyngiomas were treated with GKS at Komaki City Hospital during the past 12 years, and 98 patients were followed up for 6 to 148 months (mean 65.5 months). The mean tumor diameter and volume were 18.8 mm and 3.5 ml, respectively. These tumors were treated with a maximal dose of 21.8 Gy and a tumor margin dose of 11.5 Gy by using a mean of 4.5 isocenters. Final overall response rates were as follows: complete response 19.4%, partial response 67.4%, tumor control 79.6%, and tumor progression 20.4%. Reducing the tumor margin dose resulted in decreased therapeutic response and increased tumor progression, although the rate of visual and pituitary function loss also decreased. Among the factors examined, age (for adults) and the nature of the tumor (cystic or mixed) were statistically significant favorable and unfavorable prognostic factors, respectively. The actuarial 5- and 10-year survival rates were 94.1 and 91%, respectively. The progression-free survival rates were 60.8 and 53.8%, respectively. Patient outcomes were reportedly excellent in 45 cases, good in 23, fair in four, and poor in three; 16 patients died. Deterioration both in vision and endocrinological functions were documented as side effects in six patients (6.1%).

Conclusions

立体定向门将是安全有效的,朗g term, as an adjuvant or boost therapy for residual or recurrent craniopharyngiomas after surgical removal and has minimal side effects. New treatment strategies must be devised to manage these tumors.