Radiotherapy and intracranial meningiomas causing visual disturbance
- Correspondence to: J O’Day Victoria Parade Eye Consultants, 55 Victoria Parade, Fitzroy, Victoria 3065, Australia; justinodaybigpond.com
- fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy
- parasellar meningioma
- visual outcome
- stereotactic radiosurgery
Grounds for cautious optimism in the treatment of this condition
The meningiomas account for approximately 15% of intracranial tumours. Most meningiomas are benign slow growing well circumscribed tumours. The preferred mode of treatment is total surgical excision unless total removal would result in an unacceptably high morbidity.1 Certainly there have been changes to neurosurgical techniques with operative stereotaxy integrated with preoperative imaging to delineate more clearly the extent of the tumour and with it the ability to remove the lesion with less damage to surrounding structures.
However, if there is incomplete resection of the tumour then the cumulative risk of progression increases slowly over 10–15 years to 90%.2 Radiotherapy is the one technique used as …
