Trigeminal neuromas: modern diagnosis and treatment.

Trigeminal neuroma (TN) is a benign neoplasm arising from trigeminal nerve sheath. The tumor can grow from any part of the nerve from the root in posterior cranial fossa to peripheral extracranial branches. Symptoms of trigeminal neuroma are variable and usually depend on location and dimensions of tumor. We present a review devoted to the problem of TN. Surgery was the only possible option in patients with TN for a long time. However, radiotherapy became one of the options and sometimes alternative to surgical treatment since the late 1980s. Besides active management of patients with TN, follow-up with regular radiographic control of small asymptomatic tumors also seems to be reasonable. When evaluating treatment outcomes, physicians consider quality of life and return to previous work and activity in addition to resection quality, neurological impairment, relapse-free period and tumor growth control. However, assessment of these indicators after certain treatment is rare. Thus, it is difficult to determine treatment strategy with maximum ratio of effectiveness and quality of life. Therefore, optimization of TN treatment is currently an urgent problem that requires further study.