Gamma knife radiosurgery for recurrent salivary gland malignancies involving the base of skull

✍ Scribed by Nancy Lee; Laura E. Millender; David A. Larson; William M. Wara; Michael W. McDermott; Michael J. Kaplan; Penny K. Sneed

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2003
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 177 KB
• Volume: 25
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1043-3074
• DOI: 10.1002/hed.10193

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Background.

The management of skull base recurrence of salivary gland tumors is challenging, because complete surgical resection and fractionated reirradiation are seldom possible. Experience is being gained with radiosurgery for this indication.

Methods.

From 1994–2000, eight patients with 16 skull base recurrences of salivary gland tumors underwent Gamma Knife radiosurgery at the University of California San Francisco. Local freedom from progression (FFP), regional FFP, locoregional FFP, and survival times were measured from the date of radiosurgery and estimated using the Kaplan‐Meier method.

Results.

All patients experienced symptomatic response, usually pain resolution. The median local FFP, regional FFP, locoregional FFP, and survival times were 15.4, 12.0, 10.0, and 21.2 months, respectively. The 1‐year local FFP probabilities are 93% and 59%, respectively. Local FFP, allowing for salvage radiosurgery, was 100% at 1 year and 75% at 2 years. Five of seven patients with locoregional failure underwent repeat radiosurgery, successfully achieving control for an additional 4.4 to 13.4 months in four patients. One patient had radiation necrosis develop.

Conclusion.

Radiosurgery provided good local control and symptomatic relief in patients with recurrent salivary gland malignancies involving the base of skull. In patients with good performance status, radiosurgery should be considered as salvage treatment. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 25: 210–216, 2003