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1: Neurosurgery. 2003 Nov;53(5):1036-42; discussion 1042-3.
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Hypofractionated conformal stereotactic radiotherapy for arteriovenous malformations.

Lindvall P, Bergström P, Löfroth PO, Hariz MI, Henriksson R, Jonasson P, Bergenheim AT.

Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital, Umeå, Sweden.

OBJECTIVE: Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are congenital vascular lesions that are associated with high morbidity and mortality if left untreated. There are several options for treatment, including radiotherapy. Safe and effective single-fraction radiotherapy for patients with large AVMs has been considered difficult. METHODS: Between December 1986 and June 2001, 36 patients with cerebral AVMs were treated with hypofractionated conformal stereotactic radiotherapy at Umeå University Hospital. Twenty-nine patients have been followed angiographically to date and are reported in this study. RESULTS: Twenty-four (83%) of 29 patients (mean AVM volume, 11.5 cm(3)) underwent complete obliteration of their AVMs. The rates of angiographically verified total obliteration at 2 years after treatment were 56% for AVMs 4 to 10 cm(3) and 50% for AVMs larger than 10 cm(3). The obliteration rate increased considerably with extended follow-up. Five years after treatment, the obliteration rates were 81% for AVMs 4 to 10 cm(3) and 70% for AVMs larger than 10 cm(3). CONCLUSION: Hypofractionated conformal stereotactic radiotherapy may be an important alternative to single-fraction radiotherapy in patients with large AVMs or AVMs located in eloquent areas, because it allows the administration of a higher radiation dose than is possible to deliver in single-fraction radiosurgery. With our technique of hypofractionated conformal stereotactic radiotherapy, the rate of obliterating AVMs was comparable to that of single-dose radiosurgery, although the volumes of the irradiated AVMs in our study were larger than those reported previously.

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PMID: 14580269 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]