Long-term outcomes after meningioma radiosurgery: physician and patient perspectives

Stereotactic radiosurgery is a primary or adjuvant management approach used to treat patients with intracranial meningiomas. The goal of radiosurgery is long-term prevention of tumor growth, maintenance of the patient's neurological function, and prevention of new neurological deficits. The object of this study is to report longer-term patient outcomes.

The authors evaluated 99 consecutive patients who underwent radiosurgery for meningioma between 1987 and 1992. Evaluation was performed using serial imaging tests, clinical evaluations, and a patient survey that was administered between 5 and 10 years after radiosurgery. Four patients underwent two radiosurgery procedures for separate meningiomas. The average tumor margin dose was 16 Gy and the median tumor volume was 4.7 ml (range 0.24-24 ml). Fifty-seven patients (57%) had undergone prior resection, of which 12 procedures were considered "total." Five patients received fractionated radiation therapy before radiosurgery. Eighty-nine patients (89%) had skull base tumors. The clinical tumor control rate (no resection required) was 93%. Sixty-one (63%) of 97 tumors became smaller, 31 (32%) remained unchanged in size, and five (5%) were enlarged. Resection was performed in seven patients (7%), six of whom had undergone prior resection. New neurological deficits developed in five patients (5%) 3 to 31 months after radiosurgery. Twenty-seven (42%) of 65 responding patients were employed at the time of radiosurgery and 20 (74%) of these remained so. Radiosurgery was believed to have been "successful" by 67 of 70 patients who completed an outcomes questionnaire 5 to 10 years later. At least one complication was described by nine patients (14%) and in four patients the complications resolved.

Five to 10 years after radiosurgery, 96% of surveyed patients believed that radiosurgery provided a satisfactory outcome for their meningioma. Overall, 93% of patients required no other tumor surgery. Incidences of morbidity in this early experience were usually transitory and relatively mild. Radiosurgery provided long-term tumor control associated with high rates of neurological function preservation and patient satisfaction.