Meningiomas are mostly benign but some are atypical or malignant. Surgical resection is curative when complete removal of
benign meningiomas is contemplated. Incompletely excised and recurrent
tumors are frequently treated with fractionated
radiation therapy or stereotactic radiosurgery. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the short-term radiological and functional outcomes of a single center using
linear accelerator (Linac) stereotactic radiosurgery for the treatment of
intracranial meningiomas. Twenty-nine patients (12 males and 17 females) with 30
meningiomas, in different brain locations (skull base and non-skull base
meningiomas), were treated with Linac-based stereotactic radiosurgery. The mean
tumor volume was 6.3 cm³, and the mean
tumor marginal and maximum doses were 10.9 and 15 Gy, respectively. The median prescribed isodose line was 80%. The patients were followed-up for a minimum of 3 years. Regarding radiological outcome, nine (30%)
meningiomas demonstrated evident volume reduction, 19 (63.3%)
meningiomas remained unchanged, and two (6.7%)
meningiomas increased in size after radiosurgery. The local
tumor control rates for skull base
meningiomas and non-skull base
meningiomas after radiosurgery were 90.9% and 100%, respectively. Regarding functional outcomes, 64% of patients presenting with
cranial neuropathies showed improvement of their cranial nerve functions and 29% of patients remained unchanged. One patient had temporary
trigeminal neuropathy. Although radiosurgery for
meningiomas is generally effective and quite safe in achieving high control rates with minimum morbidity over short- and intermediate-term periods of follow-up,
tumor progression might occur in a delayed manner after initial apparent control for few years. We recommend continued follow-up for longer periods to better assess the long-term outcomes.