Twenty two of 29 evaluable tumors were controlled locally. For small to moderate size hemangioblastomas, multiple or recurrent tumors, and for patients who are not surgical candidates, radiosurgery is a safe and effective option to control disease and improve survival. Hemangioblastomas are benign vascular tumors composed of stromal cells, endothelial cells, pericytes and mast cells. They usually occur in young adults with a slight male predominance. Hemangioblastomas are the leading cause of death in VHL patients because local invasion of critical neurologic structures can preclude gross total resection.
Recurrence can lead to neurologically devastating outcomes.
However, their vascularity and critical sites of origin often make complete resection impossible. Stereotactic radiosurgery is a minimally invasive and well tolerated procedure designed to suppress tumor growth and induce tumor regression. In addition, relative radiation dose sparing of the normal surrounding brain is achieved by radiosurgery. The purpose of this study was to update the results of hemangioblastoma radiosurgery in a larger group of patients with longer follow-up. Such an analysis may further define the role of radiosurgery in this disease.