Commonly Treated Disorders
Gamma Knife PERFEXION™ is the New Standard in Noninvasive Treatment
Treatment for a broad range of brain-related disorders including:
Trigeminal Neuralgia
Noninvasive treatment for patients with medically refractory facial pain
or who have intolerable side effects of medical therapy. Gamma Knife radiosurgery
eliminates symptoms in 85 percent of patients. More than 50 percent of
patients become medication free, while others have significantly reduced
dose of medications. Risk for facial numbness is less than 2 percent,
without causing anesthesia delarosa. 7
Discover the benefits of Gamma Knife Perfexion as a
Trigeminal Neuralgia treatment.
Metastatic Tumors to the Brain
Solitary or multiple metastatic lesions less than 3 cm can be treated in
one session. Lesions in the brainstem or other eloquent areas can be safely
treated, providing superior long term control. Treatment of multiple lesions
is also feasible with a local control of tumor and survival similar to
that of patients with fewer lesions.1
- As an adjuvant to whole brain radiation therapy. In two randomized studies,
patients with one to four metastatic tumors had superior control of intracranial
disease when treated with Gamma Knife radiosurgery, resulting in improved
KPS and decreased CNS cause of death. 2,3
- As a stand-alone therapy without whole brain radiation therapy. Much higher
doses can be given to metastatic lesions compared with whole brain radiotherapy
without affecting the adjacent, uninvolved brain tissure. Local control
of metastatic lesions is superior with Gamma Knife radiosurgery. Retrospective
studies have shown the feasibility of treating multiple metastatic lesions
in the brain without whole brain radiotherapy.4 A randomized study of
whole brain radiotherapy with radiosurgery vs. radiosurgery alone showed
no difference in overall survival, questioning the role of whole brain
radiotherapy in these patients.5,6 Some patients may develop additional
lesions in the brain which can often be given additional treatment when
necessary. Avoiding whole brain radiotherapy has the potential benefit
of eliminating hair loss, delayed leukoencephalopathy and disruption in
chemotherapy. (There is no need to delay or stop systemic chemotherapy
with PERFEXION therapy.)
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Metastatic Tumors to the Brain Treatment.
Acoustic Neuromas
Benign tumors arising from the vestibular nerve often produce progressive
unilateral hearing loss. Gamma Knife is an excellent alternative to surgery
and other forms of conventional radiation therapy providing 97 percent
tumor control with < 1 percent risk of facial nerve injury with improved
hearing preservation when hearing still exists compared to surgical resection.
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Acoustic Neuroma treatment.
MeningioMas
Although benign tumors, they can recur after surgical excision or standard
radiotherapy. Enlarging asymptomatic tumors may not require surgical intervention
to provide long term control. With Gamma Knife treatment, 10-year acturial
tumor control is greater than 93 percent, regardless of location, without
any surgical recovery time.
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Meningiomas treatment.
Pituitary Tumors
Benign tumors affecting the pituitary gland can cause infertility, loss
or libido or fatigue, or result in acromegaly or Cushing's disease.
Gamma Knife radiosurgery for residual or recurrent pituitary tumors is
an excellent alternative to standard radiotherapy. Long term growth control
exceeds 95 percent with 50 to 80 percent hormonal control for hypersecretory
tumors with significantly reduced risks of pituitary dysfunction than
fractionated radiotherapy.
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Pituitary Tumors treatment.
Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM)
Symptomatic AVMs with a focal nidus can be effectively treated by Gamma
Knife radiosurgery, regardless of location, with a complete obliteration
rate of 80 to 92 percent over two years, depending on lesion size. AVMs
in critical, surgically inaccessible locations can be effectively treated
with Gama Knife radiosurgery.9
Discover the benefits of Gamma Knife Perfexion as a
Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM) treatment.
Investigational Therapies
Gamma Knife radiosurgery is being evaluated in clinical trials in the U.S.
and Europe for the treatment of intractable pain, epilepsy, major depression
and obsessive compulsive disorders. Please contact us to determine available
open protocols.
1. Shu HK, Sneed PK, Larson DA, et al. Factors influencing survival after
gamma knife radiosurgery for patients with single and multiple brain metastases.
Cancer J Sci Am. 1996 Nov-Dec;2(6):335-42.
2. Andrews DW, Scott CB, et al. Whole brain radiation therapy with or
without stereotactic radiosurgery boost for patients with one to three
brain metastases: phase III results of the RTOG 9508 randomized trial.
Lancet. 3004 May 22;363(9422):I 665-72.
3. Kondziolka D, Patel A, Lunsford et al. Stereotactic radiosurgery plus
whole brain radiotherapy versus radiotherapy alone for patients with multiple
brain metastases. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1999 Sep 1;45(2):427-34.
4. Sneed PK, Suh JH, et al. A multi-institutional review of radiosurgery
alone vs. radiosurgery with whole brain radiotherapy as the initial management
of brain metastases. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2002 Jul 1:53(3):519-26
5. Aoyama H, Shirato H, et al. Stereotactic radiosurgery plus whole-brain
radiation therapy vs stereotactic radiosurgery alone for treatment of
brain metastases: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2006 Jun 7:295
6. Soffietti R, Cornu P, et al. EFNS Guidelines on diagnosis and treatment
of brain metastases: report of an EFNS Task Force. Eur J. Neurol. 2006
Jul; 1 3 (7):674-81
7. Kondziolka D, Lunsford LD, et al. Stereotactic radiosurgery for the
treatment of trigeminal neuralgia. Clin J Pain. @002 Jan-Feb; 8(1):42-7.
8. Massager N, Murata N, et al. Influence of nerve radiation dose in the
incidence of trigeminal dysfunction after trigeminal neuralgia radiosurgery.
Neurosurgery. 2007 Apr;60(4):68-1-7.
9. Liscak R, Vladyka V, et al. Arteriovenous malformations after Leksell
gamma knife radiosurgery: rate of obliteration and complications. Neurosurgery.
2007 Jun; 60(6):1005-14