Clinical indications for the radiosurgical treatment of brain tumors

Recently there has been an exponential growth in the use of radiosurgery in the treatment of brain tumors. Although a place for radiosurgery in the management of benign disorders, especially arteriovenous malformations (AVM) is established, its role in the treatment of brain tumors continues to be defined. This paper reviews the results of recently-published studies of the use of radiosurgery for brain metastases, acoustic neuromas, primary brain tumors and tumors at the base of skull. An attempt is made to identify a number of clinical questions that need to be addressed before radiosurgery can be advocated as the treatment of choice.