Beyond tumor control: symptom trajectories and hearing outcomes after contemporary Gamma Knife radiosurgery for vestibular schwannoma

Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS) is an established treatment for vestibular schwannoma, but contemporary cohort-level data integrating long-term tumor control with clinical symptom trajectories and hearing-related correlates remain valuable.

When counseling vestibular schwannoma patients considering Gamma Knife radiosurgery, audiologists and neurotologists should present long-term symptom trajectory data—not just tumor control rates—because hearing preservation outcomes vary and some symptom patterns worsen over time despite local control.

Moving beyond binary tumor-control reporting toward symptom trajectory analysis gives clinicians and patients a more complete picture of quality-of-life outcomes after radiosurgery for vestibular schwannoma.

1. 01Cohort study tracked long-term tumor control and symptom trajectories post-Gamma Knife radiosurgery for vestibular schwannoma.
2. 02Hearing outcomes after radiosurgery were variable; tumor control does not guarantee hearing preservation.
3. 03Symptom trajectories (tinnitus, dizziness, balance) followed distinct patterns over the follow-up period.
4. 04Findings support incorporating symptom-trajectory counseling alongside tumor-control statistics in shared decision-making.
5. 05Published in Journal of Neuro-Oncology (PMID 42334723).

PMID

42334723

DOI

10.1007/s11060-026-05682-5.

Journal

Journal of Neuro-Oncology

Publication type

research_article

Evidence level

4

Population

Patients with vestibular schwannoma treated with contemporary Gamma Knife radiosurgery

Intervention

Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery for vestibular schwannoma