Abstract

ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND:
Meningioma is a common disease affects middle age patients especially females. Surgery is the first choice of treatment, gamma knife usually is a treatment for residual tumor or sometimes initially when surgery is risky.
OBJECTIVE:
To evaluate the short time effectiveness of gamma knife in treatment of meningioma with associated complications including necrosis and edema and assessing factors that favor success PATIENTS AND METHODS:
A retrospective study from April 2017 to October 2017 in Neurosciences hospital of 35 patients, 25 female and 10 male, age range 36-70 years, brain MRI done before and 6 months after gamma knife, patients evaluated regarding type of meningioma, number of shots, edema and radiation dose
RESULTS:
The most common types were parasagittal and convexity meningioma, size of tumors ranged from 10mm to 57mm most tumors were 20-29mm, post-gamma necrosis was higher in non-basal meningioma (76.5%) than basal meningioma (44.4%). Necrosis appeared 100% when using > 18 Grey. The necrosis decreased when using doses 14-16 Grey and 10-12 Grey. Non-basal meningioma showed high edema (47.1%) while basal showed less edema (38.9%), higher doses of radiation associated with more edema. Headache improved post-gamma.
CONCLUSIONS:
Gamma knife is effective and safe option to treat meningioma when surgery is risky, the tumor necrosis is highest in non-basal meningioma and when the dose above 14 grey and the peritumoral edema was highest also in non-basal meningioma and when the dose of radiation above 18 grey.
KEYWORDS: Meningioma, Gamma knife surgery, Stereotactic radiosurgery