Spontaneous shrinkage of vestibular schwannoma

"Watch, wait, and rescan" (WWR) has an established place as a successful management option for a significant proportion of vestibular schwannomas (VS) as an alternative to microsurgical removal or stereotactic radiotherapy. VS may grow slowly and continuously, followed by stagnation or even shrinkage. We present two case reports of spontaneous shrinkage of VS along with a review of the literature.

A 29-year-old female presented with a progressive history of visual blurring and intermittent diplopia over 2 months. A 29 mm of maximum intracranial diameter (ICD) VS with secondary obstructive hydrocephalus was diagnosed. The patient underwent a ventriculo-peritoneal shunt with resolution of her symptoms and opted for initial WWR management. Interval scanning between 2007 and 2014 showed progressive reduction in the maximum ICD together with reduction in the degree of central tumor enhancement. Maximum ICD at most recent follow up was 22 mm. A 28-year-old female was referred with right sensorineural deafness. A right VS of maximum ICD of 27 mm was diagnosed. Initial WWR management was planned after discussion. Serial imaging showed an initial increase in the size of the tumor followed by progressive reduction in size. The most recent follow up showed a maximum ICD of 20 mm.

Early WWR management can be associated with spontaneous shrinkage of VS over time. Prospective clinical study of larger numbers of such cases using the UK VS database may help to identify predictive factors for the spontaneous regression of VS.