Gamma Knife® radiosurgery is a sophisticated technology that is used to treat a variety of brain conditions, including:
- Brain tumors that include metastases, meningiomas, and gliomas.
- Blood vessel problems known as arteriovenous and cavernous malformations.
- Cranial nerve conditions such as trigeminal neuralgia.
- Eye metastases.
- Skull base tumors, including pituitary tumors, glomus tumors, and schwannomas.
- Tremor related to Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor.
The procedure uses hundreds of weak beams of radiation that pass harmlessly through the healthy tissue and irradiate the diseased tissue, where they meet together in a targeted fashion.
Conditions Treated by Gamma Knife Radiosurgery
Some examples of conditions that Gamma Knife radiosurgery effectively treats are:
- Arteriovenous malformations — When arteries and veins in the brain are incorrectly developed, the result is defective blood flow. Arteriovenous malformations can cause seizures, headaches, and bleeding into the brain, which can result in death. Gamma Knife radiation destroys the cells in these malformed vessels, causing them to gradually close off over two to three years.
- Acoustic neuroma — The acoustic nerve is responsible for hearing and balance. An acoustic neuroma is a benign tumor that affects hearing and balance. The Gamma Knife can precisely target this tumor without damaging the surrounding tissue. Excellent long-term control of the tumor is possible with a treatment that is durable for over 25 years and avoids the complications related to open surgery.
- Brain metastases — Brain metastases are a type of cancer that travels to the brain after starting in other body parts, such as the lung, skin (melanoma), kidney (renal cell), breast, ovary, colon, and prostate. With precise accuracy, Gamma Knife radiosurgery delivers highly targeted radiation beams to the cancer cells in the brain. This causes them to shrink and go away. Gamma Knife radiosurgery can treat multiple tumors at the same time. It can be used over and over again if new tumors develop.
- Cavernomas (cavernous malformations) — Cavernomas are a benign tangle of blood vessels that can cause bleeding into the brain and seizures. They often grow in regions of the brain that are difficult to access, such as the brain stem. Gamma Knife radiosurgery can treat cavernomas in these difficult-to-access areas in the brain.
- Eye metastases — Eye metastases are a type of cancer that travels to one or both eyes after starting in other body parts, such as the lung, skin (melanoma), kidney (renal cell), breast, ovary, and colon. With precise accuracy, Gamma Knife radiosurgery delivers highly targeted radiation beams to the cancer cells in the eye. This causes them to shrink and go away. Gamma Knife radiosurgery safely targets the tumor while sparing the nerve to the eye responsible for vision.
- Essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease tremor — Tremor associated with essential tremor or Parkinson’s disease is a disorder that causes uncontrollable shaking movements in the head, arms, and hands. It can affect daily activities and even the person’s voice. Fortunately, a small part of the brain is responsible for these uncontrolled movements. The Gamma Knife can target this area to reduce the tremors without affecting the surrounding brain tissue.
- Gliomas (including glioblastoma) — Gliomas are typically primary tumors that originate in the brain. They can be associated with seizures, headaches, and neurologic problems. The most common glioma is known as glioblastoma; it is a very aggressive form of brain cancer. It can be challenging to treat these tumors that regrow after standard treatments like open surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Gamma Knife radiosurgery is a powerful treatment option for regrowth of these tumors. Our providers can also assess whether the patient is a candidate for a novel clinical trial that involves Gamma Knife radiosurgery.
- Meningioma — The brain and spinal cord are surrounded by sheaths called the meninges. A meningioma is a tumor that rises from one of these sheaths and can be located in different regions of the brain and skull base. They often involve important nerves and blood vessels, which can make them difficult to remove with open surgery. These tumors may cause memory difficulties, headaches, hearing loss, and seizures. Gamma Knife radiosurgery can treat these tumors without cutting into the skull. It provides excellent long-term control of these tumors and a much lower complication rate compared to standard surgery.
- Skull base tumors — Gamma Knife can effectively treat other tumors that involve the skull base while sparing the patient complications related to open surgery. Skull base tumors can cause visual changes, hormonal changes in the body, facial weakness, hearing loss, swallowing problems, and balance difficulties. These tumors include pituitary tumors, glomus tumors, meningiomas, and schwannomas. Long-term tumor control is possible for these tumor types after Gamma Knife radiosurgery, with minimal to no side effects.
- Trigeminal neuralgia — This is a condition where the individual has severe facial pain on the forehead, cheek, and jaw, usually only on one side. This can be a sharp stabbing pain or a long burning sensation. Gamma Knife radiosurgery treats the trigeminal nerve, blocking the pain signals and relieving the pain.
If you would like more information on Gamma Knife radiosurgery for these or other conditions, please contact us at the Center for Image-Guided Neurosurgery at UPMC. UPMC is the nation’s leading provider of Gamma Knife procedures. Call us at 1-412-647-3685 to schedule an appointment to discuss your treatment options.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on , and was last reviewed on .