Commonly Treated Disorders

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

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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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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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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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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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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