how long has anyone had to deal with radiation necrosis and wll the symptoms eventually subside for me.i have done hbot and all please let me know thanks.
Hi Amber,
I had this concern as well so I did my own research plus consulted with my NS’s about it. If you like to Google like I do, you will read a bunch of stuff on the internet about radiation necrosis continuing to spread and the only way to stop it is cutting it out etc, But this is not true!. My NS’s and Oncologist say that the GK radiation can work up to 18-24 months post GK but any necrosis is self-limiting, Once the radiation has done it’s job any necrosis will stop and stabilize. They said that they expected some necrosis after my GK and not to be concerned about it…
Hi, amber, I found some information about radiation necrosis that may help:
"Both the success rate and incidence of complications are related to the AVM location and the volume treated. Thalamic, basal ganglionic, and brainstem locations are particularly prone to development of deficits after radiosurgery. The risk of complications is also related to the radiation dose directed to the surrounding tissue.
The risk of radiation necrosis with permanent neurologic deficit is 2 to 3 percent in most reports. In a multinational study that included 1255 patients undergoing radiosurgery for cerebral AVMs, therapy-related complications developed in 102 (8 percent) and included radiographic parenchymal lesions, cranial nerve deficits, seizures, headaches, and cyst formation. Symptoms were disabling in 21, fatal in two, and resolved completely in 42 (41 percent). In a second series that included 227 patients, only two patients developed treatment-related permanent new neurologic deficits.
The increased risk of complications in large AVMs that require larger treatment volumes was illustrated in a series of 73 patients, in whom one-half of the AVMs were >3 cm in diameter. The incidence of post-treatment imaging abnormalities and clinical complications rose with increasing treatment volume. In patients whose treatment volumes were >14 mL and who received a dose greater than or equal to16 Gy, the incidence of post-treatment MRI abnormalities was 72 percent, and 22 percent required resection for radiation necrosis. The rate of post-treatment hemorrhage was also higher for treatment volumes greater than or equal to14 mL (7.5 versus 2.7 percent per person-year).
In contrast to standard fractionation cranial irradiation, radiosurgery does not appear to impact on cognitive function. One study of 10 patients found no effect of radiosurgical treatment of AVMs upon neuropsychological performance 11 months after treatment."
The source is http://www.aboutcancer.com/avm_rvw_utd.htm
Amber, here is an article suggesting that hyperbaric oxygen therapy can help with radiation necrosis: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/%28SICI%291097-0142%2819971115%2980:10%3C2005::AID-CNCR19%3E3.0.CO;2-0/full