Vestibular Schwannomas

Vestibular schwannomas are the most common tumors of the cerebellopontine angle (CPA), the junction between the cerebellum and the brainstem. They constitute around 8% of intracranial tumors. They are benign and arise from the vestibular nerve within the internal auditory canal growing from the canal into the CPA eventually causing brainstem compression. Their incidence is around 2.5 per 100,000. Around 70% of tumors do not grow following diagnosis but those that do or those that are already large at presentation are usually treated either with stereotactic radiosurgery or microsurgical resection.

Vestibular schwannomas have been extensively investigated over the years with nearly 10,000 peer reviewed papers relating to them on Pubmed. Despite this plethora of data there are very few books that assimilate the literature to provide a comprehensive, readable and contemporary overview of their management. This book aims to meet these requirements covering both sporadic and neurofibromatosis type 2 vestibular schwannomas.

The chapters within the book will cover all aspects of the diagnosis and management of vestibular schwannomas. Opening chapters provide a historical back drop, followed by current state of the art of molecular biology, histopathology and genomics relating to vestibular schwannomas. A comprehensive section related to the assessment of patients with vestibular schwannomas will highlight the multidisciplinary approach to the management of these tumors. This will set out some of the cutting edge research currently being undertaken in prediction of tumor growth using novel biological and radiological markers. The next section focuses on the treatment of vestibular schwannomas. This will make up the largest proportion of the book and will cover all treatment modalities from observation through to stereotactic radiosurgery and microsurgical resection. Lastly will be a section focusing on rehabilitation of neurological deficit arising as a result of the disease or its treatment.