Meningiomas: Historical Perspective

Abstract

Meningiomas are a common, slow growing, intracranial neoplasm, and surgery is the treatment of choice. The goal of surgery is to completely remove the tumor together with any involved dura membrane and adjacent bone to minimize recurrence. When the tumor is located around major neural and vascular structures, morbidity increases. Adjuvant radiation therapy plays an important role in the management of residual/ aggressive meningiomas. Adjuvant radiation therapy is also considered an alternative therapy for small meningiomas, particularly in older or high-risk patients. Compared with conventional radiotherapy, stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) can deliver high doses of radiation with less injury to the normal brain tissues. Most studies prove the safety and effectiveness of SRS in the management of meningiomas, especially with the Gamma Knife. The CyberKnife is an image-guided, frameless, real-time robotic radiosurgery system that is capable of delivering a precise radiation beam. The purpose of this review is to discuss the value of CyberKnife SRS in the management of meningiomas.