Stereotactic radiosurgery for type 2 neurofibromatosis acoustic neuromas: patient selection and tumour size

Acoustic neuromas which are secondary to type 2 neurofibromatosis (NF2) respond less well to radiosurgery than unilateral sporadic disease. To refine the selection of these patients, a regression analysis was performed examining the response to radiosurgery of 114 NF2 tumours. The major determinant of outcome was tumour volume (p < 0.001). Calculating sensitivity and specificity values for different tumour volume limits gives a sensitivity value of 0.96 for a volume limit of 10 cm(3). This suggests that the size constraints that apply to the radiosurgical management of NF2 acoustic neuromas differ and are more restricted than those which are accepted for acoustic neuromas in general.