Long Term Tumor Control With Radiation?

[sandyinwisconsin]

Does anyone know the long term tumor control for radiation?

I'm almost 44 - If I get radiation, will I be having surgery 10, 20, 30, or 40 years down the road?

My doctor wants to do 27 treatments of a low dose radiation because my tumor is tight in the boney canal. 

He said it's very rare to just have a tumor in the canal and not outside. 

He doesn't want too much swelling and he's trying to avoid my semi circular canal.  I'm not sure what that is. 

Sandy

[Tod]

Well, that is the goal. However, there are multiple factors at play. I expect the biggest factor is the quality of the tumor's blood supply. In my case, the remaining bit of tumor has an excellent blood supply, so if FSR does not contain it, I won't be surprised to need surgery again. If that is the case, I hope it is far enough down the line that the surgical techniques are even better than today.

I'm not sure anyone can really answer your second question. There is a very good chance that FSR can and will stop the tumor growth. It may even cause the tumor to die.

Good luck to you. I'm sure others will give you some statistics, but I am also sure you can find those by searching the forum. The effectiveness of radiation therapy (CK, GK, FSR) has  been discussed many times.

-Tod

[Jim Scott]

Hi, Sandy ~

Although your questions are natural I'm afraid they cannot be answered with any credibility.  Radiation treatment for acoustic neuromas has been around for 25 years so it is hardly experimental.  However, no one can accurately predict whether your FSR treatments (or any other radiation treatment) will totally destroy your AN.  Simply put, Sandy, there are no guarantees with AN surgery or radiation.  They are most often effective but there will always be a risk of re-growth that every AN patient has to live with. 

For what it's worth, I underwent debulking surgery that reduced a 4.5 cm AN to approximately 2.5 cm.  The tumor's blood supply was severed at that time.  90 days later (in a pre-planned sequence) I underwent 26 FSR treatments to destroy the remaining tumor's DNA.  They were successful.  Although that qualifies as anecdotal evidence it does not serve to predict another AN patients success with FSR.    Still, I trust that your FSR will be successful in destroying your AN and that you won't need surgery down the road. 

Jim

[Alison]

I think most ANs start in the ear canal and bulge into the cerebellum pontine angle as thats the next space available, leading to the ice cream cone effect. My 15mm x 10 AN is like that on MRI.

I had SRS linac in 2012 and have had continued worsening symptoms with no improvement and am waiting an apt for my year post MRI in Jan (I'm in the UK).

Tod, interesting point about blood supply, do you know if they can tell on MRI about blood supply, if you've had SRS and not had surgery?

I know someone on a UK forum who had surgery 3 years after GK as it failed but unsure how common it is. As Jim says, both SRS and surgery don't guarantee results.

best wishes, Alison.

[Tod]

Alison, I really don't know. I have not looked into it. Maybe someone else who has researched this topic more can chime in.

-Tod

[arizonajack]

Does anyone know the long term tumor control for radiation?

I'm almost 44 - If I get radiation, will I be having surgery 10, 20, 30, or 40 years down the road?

Like the song says: Que Sera, Sera (What will be, will be).

However, there have been many statistical studies on the efficacy of radiation treatments.

Check these out:

http://www.panarabneurosurgery.org.sa/journal/October2008/p1-10%20(551).pdf

http://thejns.org/doi/pdf/10.3171/2012.7.GKS12783

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/857604-overview#showall

[ppearl214]

Hi Sandy,

My AN was the same size as yours when I was treated with Cyberknife (CK) over 7 years ago.  To this day, I have been blessed with my successful outcome. I know of others with larger ANs than ours that were treated well over 10 years ago with different radiation modalities.

As previously noted, there are no sure-fire guarantees with any AN treatment option (surgical or radiation), yet, in the end, I am thrilled with my treatment outcome as many others are as well.

Just sharing from personal experience.

Phyl

Does anyone know the long term tumor control for radiation?

I'm almost 44 - If I get radiation, will I be having surgery 10, 20, 30, or 40 years down the road?

My doctor wants to do 27 treatments of a low dose radiation because my tumor is tight in the boney canal. 

He said it's very rare to just have a tumor in the canal and not outside. 

He doesn't want too much swelling and he's trying to avoid my semi circular canal.  I'm not sure what that is. 

Sandy

[Sandrawoody]

Hi Sandy, l understand how you feel, l have had surgery 4 years ago to remove my tumour, all has been going so well. Then out of the blue, it has begun to regrow.
At least it is small this time, and l have the option of further surgery or radiation.
First time round, l had no choice , it was operate because of its large size.

l find having the choice between further surgery or radiation worse......trying to weigh up the potential benefits, against the possible risks.........
l read and read as much information as l can on radiation, and it too ,seems to have benefits and risks.......
What to do ------- how do you make this call.........

Let me know how you are going with your research, and how you feel about this issue.......maybe  it is a little natural to be frightened of something that we hope will cure us of this thing, without making a bigger problem down the track. I hear you on that one....

Good luck

[sandyinwisconsin]

Sandra,

I only have 8 more treatments left of 27.  So far I have had no symptoms of anything, no hearing loss, headaches, tiredness, or anything.

I think my radiation oncologist is one of the best in the country so I have to trust in God with the rest. 

Sandy

[leapyrtwins]

I'm almost 44 - If I get radiation, will I be having surgery 10, 20, 30, or 40 years down the road?

That all depends on how effective the radiation is in stopping the tumor growth.  If the tumor stops growing you will probably never need surgery.

If the tumor fails to stop growing and gets larger, surgery might be the recommended treatment.

Jan