Size as a Risk Factor for Growth in Conservatively Managed Vestibular Schwannomas: The Birmingham Experience

This article discusses conservatively managed tumors, whether larger tumors at presentation are more likely to grow, and whether position at presentation corresponds with growth. A review is presented of more than 900 patients managed at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, between 1997 and 2012. Tumors were arbitrarily divided into 3 groups: intracanalicular (IC), and extracanalicular (EC) tumors measuring 1 to 10 mm or 11 to 20 mm at the cerebellopontine angle. This series shows that larger EC tumors grow faster than IC tumors and that EC tumors overall at presentation are more likely to grow than IC tumors.