Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Vestibular Schwannomas: Reducing Toxicity With 11 Gy as the Marginal Prescribed Dose

BackgroundStereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a common treatment option for vestibular schwannomas. Historically, a dose de-escalation of the marginal prescribed dose from 16 Gy to 12–13 Gy has been done to limit toxicity without reducing local control (LC). We aimed to retrospectively report outcomes of Linac-based SRS for vestibular schwannomas treated with different doses.MethodsIncluded in the study were 97 stage 1 (1%), 2 (56%), 3 (21.5%), and 4 (21.5%) vestibular schwannomas treated with Linac-based (Novalis®) SRS from 1995 to 2019. No margin was added to the GTV to create the PTV. The median marginal prescribed dose was 14 Gy (range: 12–16 Gy) before 2006 and then 11 Gy for all patients (61 pts). Mean tumor volume was 1.96 cm3, i.e., about 1.6 cm in diameter. Mean follow-up was 8.2 years.ResultsFollowing SRS, LC at 3, 5, and 10 years was 100%, 98.4%, and 95.6%, respectively [100% for those with ≤ 13 Gy as the marginal prescribed dose (NS)]. Toxicity to the trigeminal nerve was reported in 7.2% of cases (3.3% and 0% for transient and permanent toxicity for 11 Gy). The marginal prescribed dose was the only significant predictive factor in univariate and multivariate analysis (HR = 1.77, 95% CI = 1.07–3.10, p = 0.028). Toxicity to the facial nerve was reported in 6.2% of cases. The marginal prescribed dose was again the only significant predictive factor in univariate and multivariate analysis (HR = 1.31, 95% CI = 0.77–2.23, p = 0.049).ConclusionLinac-based SRS for stages 1–3 vestibular schwannomas provides excellent outcomes: a 10-year LC rate of over 95%, with a permanent facial or trigeminal toxicity rate of under 5%. A marginal prescribed dose of 11 Gy seems to decrease nerve toxicity and facial toxicity in particular, without reducing LC. Prospective studies with longer follow-up are needed.