The incidence of vestibular schwannoma (VS) diagnosis among octogenarians has increased due to longer life expectancy and greater MRI accessibility and utilization. Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) offers a safe management strategy for these patients.
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
For octogenarians with vestibular schwannoma, this multi-institutional dataset supports stereotactic radiosurgery as a reasonable management option; clinicians treating elderly patients should note the age-specific safety and efficacy data when counseling on treatment choice.
As the global population ages, evidence on the safety and efficacy of radiosurgery in octogenarians fills a critical gap, since this group is often excluded from or under-represented in existing studies.
- 01Multi-institutional international design strengthens generalisability compared to single-centre series.
- 02Focus on patients aged 80+ addresses an under-studied, growing patient population.
- 03Stereotactic radiosurgery evaluated as an alternative to observation or open surgery in very elderly patients.
- 04Published in Journal of Neurosurgery, peer-reviewed with rigorous editorial standards.
- 05Findings can directly inform shared decision-making discussions about treatment vs. watchful waiting in octogenarians.
Stereotactic radiosurgery can be used to manage vestibular schwannoma in patients aged 80 or older.
studypartially supportedAn international multi-institutional design was used to assess outcomes in this age group.
studysupported- PMID
- 42566794
- DOI
- 10.3171/2026.2.JNS252486.
- Journal
- Journal of Neurosurgery
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 2b
- Population
- Patients aged 80 or older with vestibular schwannoma treated at multiple international institutions
- Intervention
- Stereotactic radiosurgery for vestibular schwannoma
Primary outcomes
Tumor control rate; Treatment safety and complication rates in octogenarians; Hearing and neurological function preservation