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University of Florida Studies New Treatment For Rare Nerve Tumor

Date:
February 25, 1999
Source:
University of Florida
Summary:
In a study in the current International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics, 18 patients with non-acoustic schwannomas - benign tumors which form on cranial nerves exiting from the brain - were treated at Shands at UF with a safer, less-expensive alternative to cranial surgery using a machine called a stereotactic linear accelerator.
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By Eric Benjamin Lowe

GAINESVILLE, Fla.---University of Florida physicians have successfully treated a group of patients suffering from a rare skull-base tumor using an advanced radiation treatment system.

In a study in the current International Journal of RadiationOncology, Biology and Physics, 18 patients with non-acoustic schwannomas - benign tumors which form on cranial nerves exiting from the brain - were treated at Shands at UF with a safer, less-expensive alternative to cranial surgery using a machine called a stereotactic linear accelerator, said John Buatti, an associate professor of radiation oncology at UF's Brain Institute.

"Our findings show tumors have been controlled in 100 percent of the patients, with a low complication rate," said Buatti. "Surgical alternatives often may pose a greater risk of nerve injury in these cases."

Developed by UF researchers in 1986, the linear accelerator, or linac, uses a computer model of patients' brains to direct multiple arcs of tightly focused X-rays to brain lesions. What results is a high dose of radiation where these beams intersect with only minimal amounts reaching healthy brain tissue. Since 1988, UF has used the noninvasive, outpatient technique to treat more than 1,200 patients for brain tumors and intracranial disorders.

Schwannomas form on the sheath surrounding nerves. Symptoms vary by patient, depending on which cranial nerves are affected, and can include headache, hearing loss, facial pain or numbness, muscle weakness, difficulty swallowing and double vision.

Typically, non-acoustic schwannomas are removed surgically. Thougheffective at controlling tumors, surgery may pose a significant risk to cranialnerves - including those associated with facial movement, eyesight and hearing. Some patients, including the elderly andmedically unstable, cann


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University of Florida. "University of Florida Studies New Treatment For Rare Nerve Tumor." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 25 February 1999. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/02/990224093517.htm>.
University of Florida. (1999, February 25). University of Florida Studies New Treatment For Rare Nerve Tumor. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 27, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/02/990224093517.htm
University of Florida. "University of Florida Studies New Treatment For Rare Nerve Tumor." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/02/990224093517.htm (accessed March 27, 2024).

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