AI Article Synopsis

  • Primary optic nerve sheath meningiomas (ONSMs) are benign tumors that can cause gradual vision loss, and radiation therapy, particularly proton therapy, is key for treatment as it may improve visual function while minimizing side effects.* -
  • In a study of 32 patients treated with proton beam radiotherapy, results showed a 100% local control rate after 5 years and 84.4% of patients experienced improved or stable vision, despite a 9.4% occurrence of radiation-induced optic neuropathy (RION).* -
  • The findings support proton beam therapy as a safe and effective option for ONSM treatment, though further research is needed to compare its effectiveness against traditional photon radiotherapy.*

Article Abstract

Background: Primary optic nerve sheath meningiomas (ONSMs) represent a group of benign tumors originating from the optic nerve sheath, typically causing painless, gradual onset monocular visual loss, which can result in blindness if left untreated. Radiation therapy represents an important treatment option for patients with ONSM, allowing for preservation and potential improvement in visual function. In particular, proton radiotherapy may enable a reduction of the side effects due to its physical advantage of an inverted dose profile with a steep dose gradient. The study investigates the visual acuity, local tumor control, and treatment-related toxicities following proton beam radiotherapy with a single institutional cohort comprising 32 patients treated for ONSM.

Methods: Patients with primary ONSM, either histologically (16/32) or radiologically confirmed (16/32), which were treated at the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University Hospital Heidelberg (Germany) were assessed in regard to their visual outcomes, treatment toxicity, and local tumor control following radiotherapy according to response assessment in neuro-oncology criteria.

Results: After a median follow-up time of 39.5 months, the 5-year local progression-free survival was estimated at 100%, with 84.4% of patients reporting improvement or stability in visual acuity during their last follow-up. Radiation-induced optic neuropathy (RION) was encountered in 9.4%.

Conclusions: Our study demonstrates proton beam therapy as a safe and effective treatment alternative in the therapeutic management of ONSMs. RION represents a rare but dreaded complication after treatment. Future head-to-head comparisons with photon radiotherapy in a prospective setting are required to demonstrate a potential, additional clinical benefit.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11491494PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/noajnl/vdae160DOI Listing

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