Gamma Knife Perfexion: meningioma Treatment

What is a meningioma?

Meningioma is one of the most common types of brain tumors. Up to 30 percent of tumors that originate in the brain are meningiomas. The first signs that you may have a meningioma can be very subtle and depend on the location of the tumor. Your vision may get blurry, or you may have headaches, hearing loss, loss of memory or weakness in your arms and legs. In about half the cases, someone with a meningioma will experience seizures.

If you have a seizure, or if any of the other symptoms mentioned above persists or gets worse, you should see a doctor right away. If a meningioma is diagnosed, your doctor will help you decide the best course of treatment, which may include meningioma surgery.

What are the characteristics of a meningioma?

A meningioma is usually benign, meaning it remains a well-defined mass but it is structured differently and its cells grow much more quickly than normal tissue. Benign tumors are rarely fatal, however they do put increased pressure on the brain as they grow. The tumor can enlarge to the point that it interfers with your body's normal function. Meningiomas occur more often in people over 40 and are more common in women. Their cause is not clearly understood.

The meningioma gets its name because it is located in the meninges, the membrane that surrounds and protects the outer surface of the brain and spinal cord. The tumor can arise in any area of the meninges. About 90% are just inside or at the base of the skull or in the brainstem above the spinal cord.

Other meningiomas occur in the tissue around the optic nerve that connects the eye to the brain or in the tissue around the spinal cord. To confirm that you have a meningioma, doctors will use an imaging test, such as a CT (computed tomography) scan, MRI (magnectic resonance imaging) or X-ray.

What are the options for meningioma treatment?

There are several options for meningioma treatment, depending on the patient and the type and location of the tumor:

• Periodic monitoring with no treatment
• Meningioma surgery
• Radiation therapy
• Radiosurgery, such as Gamma Knife radiosurgery

If the meningioma is small and you are experiencing no significant symptoms, your doctor can monitor the tumor closely over time using imaging scans to see if it grows. If there is no growth, treatment may not be required.

Meningioma surgery

Meningioma surgery can be done to remove all or part of the tumor, depending on where it is located. There are risks involved with meningioma surgery, and you and your doctor should discuss these before making a decision about treatment. If some of the tumor cannot be removed, you can undergo radiation therapy to treat the remaining tumor. If the tumor is entirely removed the risk of recurrence is low.

Radiation therapy

Radiation therapy alone can be used for mengingioma treatment, both for large and small tumors. It can also be used for meningiomas located in critical areas, such as near the nerves responsible for vision. Radiation therapy usually requires daily treatments for about five weeks. The treatment converts the meningioma to dead scar tissue. After radiation therapy, the risk of recurrence is low.

Why you should consider Gamma Knife radiosurgery for meningioma treatment.

Radiosurgery to treat meningiomas, such as Gamma Knife radiosurgery, has been be very effective. The risk of recurrence after Gamma Knife radiosurgery is low. The Gamma Knife does not remove the tumor. Rather, it converts the tumor to scar tissue, and the mass stops growing.

Gamma Knife radiosurgery is non-invasive and the Gamma Knife is not a knife. Because no incision is required, Gamma Knife radiosurgery surgery can be a safer option than conventional surgery. Rather than removing the tumor, Gamma Knife radiosurgery damages the cells so they are unable to reproduce, and the mass stops growing. The revolutionary technology uses precisely focused, beams of radiation to stop the tumor's growth without harming other nearby tissue..This is especially important when a tumor is located in an inaccessible area or near critically important areas of the brain. Sometimes, certain parts of a meningioma cannot be surgically removed but can still be treated with Gamma Knife radiosurgery.

Minimally invasive Gamma Knife radiosurgery is nearly painless and has no risk of infection compared to conventional surgery. Gamma Knife radiosurgery is a good option for high-risk patients with conditions like diabetes or hypertension. Most patients are able to return home on the day of treatment and resume normal activities the next day.

About Washington hospital

Washington Hospital, located in Fremont, California, was the first hospital in the United States to treat patients using the new Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion™, a revolutionary alternative to traditional open-brain surgery and/or daily radiation treatments, which are administered from four to six weeks. The Gamma Knife Perfexion instead uses focused doses of radiation without making a single incision to treat malignant and benign brain tumors in a matter of hours.

Washington Hospital's Gamma Knife® Program is led by one of the most accomplished teams of specialized physicians, physicists and nurses. Medical Directors neurosurgeon Sandeep Kunwar, MD, and radiation oncologist David Larson, MD, PhD, are both nationally and internationally recognized for their expertise, innovation and leadership in the field of Gamma Knife radiosurgery. Both board certified physicians, together they have more than 23 years of experience performing thousands of successful procedures.