Toxicity of gamma knife radiosurgery in the treatment of intracranial tumors in patients with collagen vascular diseases or multiple sclerosis.

Purpose: To assess toxicity in patients with either a collagen vascular disease (CVD) or multiple sclerosis (MS) treated with intracranial radiosurgery.

Methods And Materials: Between January 2004 and April 2009, 6 patients with MS and 14 patients with a CVD were treated with Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS) for intracranial tumors. Treated lesions included 15 total brain metastases in 7 patients, 11 benign brain tumors, 1 low grade glioma, and 1 cavernous malformation. Toxicities were graded by the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group Acute/Late Radiation Morbidity Scoring Criteria. "Rare toxicities" were characterized as those reported in the scientific literature at an incidence of <5%.

Results: Median follow-up time was 16 months. Median dose to the tumor margin was 13.0 Gy (range, 12-21 Gy). Median size of tumor was 5.0 cm(3) (range, 0.14-7.8 cm(3)). Of the 14 patients with CVD, none experienced a Grade 3 or 4 toxicity or a toxicity characterized as rare. Of the 6 patients with MS, 3 experienced rare toxicities, and two of these were Grade 3 toxicities. Rare complications included a patient experiencing both communicating hydrocephalus and facial nerve palsy, as well as 2 additional patients with motor cranial nerve palsy. High-grade toxicities included the patient with an acoustic neuroma requiring ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement for obstructive hydrocephalus, and 1 patient with a facial nerve schwannoma who experienced permanent facial nerve palsy. Interval between radiosurgery and high-grade toxicities ranged from 1 week to 4 months.

Conclusions: Our series suggests that patients with MS who receive GKRS may be at increased risk of rare and high-grade treatment-related toxicity. Given the time course of toxicity, treatment-related edema or demyelination represent potential mechanisms.