Stereotactic radiation therapy and radiosurgery.

In all stereotactic irradiation procedures, a high dose is delivered to a relatively small target volume. Whether fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy is preferable (based on a therapeutic ratio) or a radiosurgical method (aiming at the precise and complete destruction of a tissue volume) depends on the definition and composition of the target. The methodologies can be grouped in closed-skull external focussed beam stereotactic radiosurgery/radiotherapy and in stereotactic implantation/injection of radiation sources. Although originally developed to treat functional disorders of the brain, stereotactic radiosurgery has been used most successfully for over 4 decades to treat cerebral arteriovenous malformations. Complete obliteration ranges from 30 to 50% after 1 year are reported. At 2 years the results range from 72 to 90%. Clearly the outcome is influenced by patient selection. In the treatment of acoustic neurinomas follow-up data of larger series of radiosurgery show that the treatment performed under local anesthesia on an outpatient basis becomes comparable with the best microsurgery data. Using multiple isocenters and MR localization tumor growth control is achieved in more than 90% of cases, with hearing preservation of approximately 50%. Pituitary tumors with Cushing's syndrome, acromegaly, Nelson's syndrome, prolactinomas and nonsecreting adenomas have been treated with various stereotactic irradiation methods. Further refinement of both localization techniques, dose distribution and beam manipulation will make radiosurgery an attractive modality because of its noninvasive character and low morbidity. Only a small subgroup of patients with low-grade gliomas are candidates for stereotactic localized irradiation treatment, namely those with circumscribed tumors with only limited spread of tumor cells into the periphery. For this subgroup, which usually comprises not more than 25% of all low-grade gliomas, the results from interstitial radiosurgery compete with surgical resection. Apart from the possibility to define the borders of the treatment volume with serial stereotactic biopsies, there are dosimetric advantages of interstitial radiosurgery. Local single high-dose treatment remains controversial for highly malignant infiltrative tumors, and significant treatment benefit remains to be documented. Radiosurgery can be used to effectively treat solitary brain metastases with less invasiveness and dissection of normal tissue, and with lower morbidity and less expense than open surgery.