A comprehensive analysis of hearing preservation after radiosurgery for vestibular schwannoma

Abstract

These data provide a methodical overview of the literature regarding hearing preservation with GKS for VS and a less biased assessment of outcomes than single-institution studies. This objective analysis provides insight into advising patients of hearing preservation rates for GKS treatment of VSs that have been reported, as aggregated in the published literature. Analysis of the data suggests that an overall hearing preservation rate of approximately 51% can be expected approaching 3-4 years after radiosurgical treatment, and the analysis reveals that patients treated with < or = 13 Gy were more likely to have preserved hearing than patients receiving larger doses of radiation. Furthermore, larger tumors and older patients do not appear to be at any increased risk for hearing loss after GKS for VS than younger patients or patients with smaller tumors.