Stereotactic radiosurgery for pediatric brain tumors and arteriovenous malformations

Abstract

While there is extensive data regarding the use of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) in adult patients, there is also growing interest in this modality in pediatric patients in recent years. SRS utilizes multiple, convergent beams of high-energy x-rays, gamma rays, or protons delivered to a discrete target, and it has the benefit of creating a highly conformal delivery of radiation with rapid dose fall-off and sparing of neighboring normal tissues. Due to these favorable dosimetric characteristics, SRS may have an essential role in managing unresectable lesions, residual lesions, or recurrent tumors in children. As pediatric SRS varies from adult SRS in several essential respects such as immobilization and anesthesia, appropriate patient selection is crucial. Despite presented valuable data from several SRS, prospective multi-institutional trials examining the role of SRS in a large pediatric patient population are required.