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obJect. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) in the management of intracranial hemangioblastomas. methods. Six participating centers of the North American Gamma Knife Consortium and 13 Japanese Gamma Knife centers identified 186 patients with 517 hemangioblastomas who underwent SRS. Eighty patients had 335 hemangioblastomas associated with von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL) and 106 patients had 182 sporadic hemangioblastomas. The median target volume was 0.2 cm 3 (median diameter 7 mm) in patients with VHL and 0.7 cm 3 (median diameter 11 mm) in those with sporadic hemangioblastoma. The median margin dose was 18 Gy in VHL patients and 15 Gy in those with sporadic hemangioblastomas. results. At a median of 5 years (range 0.5-18 years) after treatment, 20 patients had died of intracranial disease progression and 9 patients had died of other causes. The overall survival after SRS was 94% at 3 years, 90% at 5 years, and 74% at 10 years. Factors associated with longer survival included younger age, absence of neurological symptoms, fewer tumors, and higher Karnofsky Performance Status. Thirty-three (41%) of the 80 patients with VHL developed new tumors and 17 (16%) of the106 patients with sporadic hemangioblastoma had recurrences of residual tumor from the original tumor. The 5-year rate of developing a new tumor was 43% for VHL patients, and the 5-year rate of developing a recurrence of residual tumor from the original tumor was 24% for sporadic hemangioblastoma patients. Factors associated with a reduced risk of developing a new tumor or recurrences of residual tumor from the original tumor included younger age, fewer tumors, and sporadic rather than VHL-associated hemangioblastomas. The local tumor control rate for treated tumors was 92% at 3 years, 89% at 5 years, and 79% at 10 years. Factors associated with an improved local tumor control rate included VHL-associated hemangioblastoma, solid tumor, smaller tumor volume, and higher margin dose. Thirteen patients (7%) developed adverse radiation effects (ARE) after SRS, and one of these patients died due to ARE.

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OBJECTIVE This study aimed to explore the efficacy and safety of stereotactic radiosurgery in patients with jugular foramen schwannomas (JFSs). METHODS This study was a multiinstitutional retrospective analysis of 117 patients with JFSs who were treated with Gamma Knife surgery (GKS) at 18 medical centers of the Japan Leksell Gamma Knife Society. The median age of the patients was 53 years. Fifty-six patients underwent GKS as their initial treatment, while 61 patients had previously undergone resection. At the time of GKS, 46 patients (39%) had hoarseness, 45 (38%) had hearing disturbances, and 43 (36%) had swallowing disturbances. Eighty-five tumors (73%) were solid, and 32 (27%) had cystic components. The median tumor volume was 4.9 cm, and the median prescription dose administered to the tumor margin was 12 Gy. Five patients were treated with fractionated GKS and maximum and marginal doses of 42 and 21 Gy, respectively, using a 3-fraction schedule. RESULTS The median follow-up period was 52 months. The last follow-up images showed partial remission in 62 patients (53%), stable tumors in 42 patients (36%), and tumor progression in 13 patients (11%). The actuarial 3- and 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) rates were 91% and 89%, respectively. The multivariate analysis showed that pre-GKS brainstem edema and dumbbell-shaped tumors significantly affected PFS. During the follow-up period, 20 patients (17%) developed some degree of symptomatic deterioration. This condition was transient in 12 (10%) of these patients and persistent in 8 patients (7%). The cause of the persistent deterioration was tumor progression in 4 patients (3%) and adverse radiation effects in 4 patients (3%), including 2 patients with hearing deterioration, 1 patient with swallowing disturbance, and 1 patient with hearing deterioration and hypoglossal nerve palsy. However, the preexisting hoarseness and swallowing disturbances improved in 66% and 63% of the patients, respectively. CONCLUSIONS GKS resulted in good tumor control in patients with either primary or residual JFSs. Although some patients experienced some degree of symptomatic deterioration after treatment, persistent adverse radiation effects were seen in only 3% of the entire series at the last follow-up. Lower cranial nerve deficits were extremely rare adverse radiation effects, and preexisting hoarseness and swallowing disturbances improved in two-thirds of patients. These results indicated that GKS was a safe and reasonable alternative to surgical resection in selected patients with JFSs.