Vestibular Schwannoma Tumor Size Is Associated With Acute Vestibular Symptoms After Gamma Knife Therapy

Abstract

To assess how pretreatment vestibular schwannoma (VS) tumor characteristics are associated with vestibular symptoms after gamma knife (GK) surgery. Retrospective chart review of patients undergoing GK treatment for VS at our institution from 2005 to 2018. Academic tertiary referral center. Patients receiving primary GK surgery for vestibular schwannomas with at least 6 months of follow up. Patients with neurofibromatosis 2 or previous surgery were excluded. The presence of posttreatment vestibular symptoms within 6 months after GK. Clinical records were assessed for pretreatment tumor, patient, and treatment characteristics that impacted posttreatment symptoms. All patients received radiation doses between 12 and 13 Gy. Of 115 patients, the average age was 60. Thirty-seven (32%) patients developed vestibular symptoms within 6 months post-GK, and 18 patients were referred for vestibular rehabilitation. Ten of 13 patients undergoing vestibular rehabilitation reported improvement. Overall, 112 patients had tumor measurements. Pretreatment tumors were significantly smaller for patients with acute vestibular symptoms (mean 1.43 cm versus 1.71 cm, p = 0.007). On multivariate analysis, smaller tumor size (p = 0.009, odds ratio [OR] = 0.29, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.12-0.73]) was significantly associated with vestibular symptoms within 6 months of GK. Patients with tumors less than 1.6 cm were more likely to receive referrals for vestibular rehabilitation within 6 months posttreatment (25% versus 9.4%, p = 0.026, OR = 3.22, 95% CI [1.00, 11.32]). Smaller vestibular schwannomas were significantly associated with higher rates of post-GK vestibular symptoms. Pretreatment tumor size may be used to counsel patients on the likelihood of post-GK vestibular symptoms and vestibular rehabilitation.