Longitudinal Changes of Quality of Life and Hearing Following Radiosurgery for Vestibular Schwannoma

Abstract

Background: Most existing publications on quality of life (QoL) following stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for vestibular schwannomas (VS) gather information retrospectively by conducting surveys several years after treatment. The purpose of this study is therefore to provide longitudinal QoL data and assess how changes in hearing impact QoL. Methods: Patients completed the 12-item short-form (SF-12) health survey prior to treatment and at every follow-up visit. One hundred and seventy-five patients who had complete forms prior to treatment as well as at an early and at a late follow-up were included in the analysis. For 51 of these patients, longitudinal audiometry data were available. Results: Median follow-up was 7.2 years. Patients experienced a significant reduction in the physical composite score (PCS, p = 0.011) compared to before treatment. The mental composite score (MCS) increased significantly (p = 0.032). A decrease in PCS was not significantly correlated with an increased hearing threshold on the affected but rather on the unaffected ear (r(49) = −0.32, p = 0.023). Conclusions: It is unclear whether the decline in the PCS is due to treatment-related toxicity or the normal decline of PCS with age. Ensuring proper hearing on the untreated ear might be crucial to ensure good QoL for patients treated with SRS for VS, though this association should be confirmed in additional studies.

Long‐Term Quality of Life of Vestibular Schwannoma Patients: A Longitudinal Analysis

“…[5][6][7] Longitudinal studies lack long-term follow-up (2-3 years), 14,15 do not use a disease-specific questionnaire, [16][17][18] or focus only on 1 treatment modality. [16][17][18] This study aims to find the long-term longitudinal QoL outcomes and evaluates decisional regret in patients with VS.…”

“…Previous studies on long-term QoL in patients with VS were cross-sectional in design and showed no clinically relevant differences between treatment modalities. [5][6][7] Longitudinal studies lack long-term follow-up (2-3 years), 14,15 do not use a disease-specific questionnaire, [16][17][18] or focus only on 1 treatment modality. [16][17][18] This study aims to find the long-term longitudinal QoL outcomes and evaluates decisional regret in patients with VS.…”

Effects of Language, Age, and Hearing Loss on Health‐Related Quality of Life

“…The main outcome of this study was HRQoL, which was calculated using responses to the 12‐Item Short‐Form Survey (SF‐12), which has been used in previous studies to determine the HRQoL in patients with hearing loss. 16 , 17 , 18 Patients completed the SF‐12 on the day of their visit to measure their HRQoL at the time of their symptoms. The SF‐12 is an abbreviated version of the 36‐Item Short‐Form Survey.…”

Trading mental and physical health in vestibular schwannoma treatment decision

“…It has been hypothesized that microsurgery may confer an advantage with regard to patient’s MH, relating to the psychological benefit of “cure” from tumor removal ( 17 ). In general, however, QoL data in VS treatment differentiating between PH and MH is scarce ( 14 , 17 , 18 , 22 ).…”