Radiosurgery (Gamma Knife) for Benign Tumor of Brain in the Best Hospitals in the World
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Gamma Knife and Radiotherapy Center
The Gamma Knife and Radiotherapy Center specializes in the stereotactic radiosurgical treatment and stereotactic radiotherapy for benign and malignant tumors of the head and neck, vascular malformations, as well as metastases in various organs (for example, in the liver, lungs, spine). The center has state-of-the-art equipment for stereotactic radiosurgery and stereotactic radiation therapy – Perfexion Gamma Knife and Axesse Linear Accelerator. The center also has innovative technologies of targeted radiotherapy, thanks to which healthy tissues can be completely removed from the radiation zone. At the same time, tumors and their metastases can be removed with an accuracy of up to 0,3 mm.
Gamma Knife Center
The Gamma Knife Center specializes in cancer treatment. The medical facility was founded in July 1998 and currently has the status of one of the most respected and experienced in the field of its specialization. The patients are treated in close collaboration with experts in neurosurgery and nuclear medicine. For all the years of their clinical practice, the center's doctors have cured thousands of patients with cancer pathologies of varying severity.
Gamma Knife and Radiotherapy Center
The Gamma Knife and Radiotherapy Center offers the full range of medical services in its field of competence. The treatment begins with an individual consultation and the comprehensive diagnostics, while the therapy is followed by all the necessary measures for follow-up care and consolidation of the result. The irradiation is carried out using the innovative Gamma Knife ICON, the characteristics of which ensure the successful removal of tumors up to 3 cm in size without damaging the surrounding healthy tissues. The highly qualified doctors of the center have many years of clinical experience and excellent skills in using this progressive system, so the patient can be sure that he will get the optimal result.
The same type of cancer manifests itself differently in different cases. That is why cancer treatments must be individualized. Of course, a patient can also be involved in the choice of treatment methods. However, this choice should be based on the competent opinion of doctors and specialists who are familiar with progressive methods of therapy, as well as the patient's medical history.
Features of benign brain tumors
All tumor formations affecting certain organs and tissues of the human body are divided into malignant and benign ones.
The main criteria that characterize benign neoplasms are as follows:
- The tumor consists of mature cells
- The tumor grows slowly
- The tumor has distinctive boundaries
- The tumor does not grow into surrounding tissues
The benign nature of the tumor does not indicate its harmlessness, especially when it is located into the limited intracranial space. All tumor processes in the brain, including benign ones, pose a serious threat to human health and life due to compression of vital cerebral structures.
Symptoms and diagnostics
The manifestations of benign tumor processes in the brain at the initial stages may be indistinct and do not cause alertness. Only when the tumor reaches a significant size and compresses certain parts of the brain, focal and cerebral symptoms arise. Clinical signs of the tumor are usually nonspecific and can differ only in the degree of severity.
The symptoms of the benign brain tumor can include:
- Seizures
- Impairment of coordination and balance
- Impairment of speech, memory, and attention
- Unilateral paresis of facial muscles
- Impaired hearing, vision, smell
- Nausea, vomiting
- Headaches, dizziness
Since focal and cerebral symptoms can be a manifestation of both benign and malignant brain tumors, diagnostics is used to establish its correct type and determine the subsequent choice of treatment methods.
The most informative methods of diagnostics are CT scan and MRI of the brain. Brain tumors of benign origin usually have distinct boundaries and do not have signs of spreading into the surrounding brain tissues.
Brain tumor treatment
The main principle of treatment of all brain tumors, regardless of whether the process is benign or not, is the removal of the tumor in the most sparing way possible.
In all cases, the scheme of brain tumor treatment is elaborated strictly individually, taking into account the age and health state of the patients, the location of the tumor, and its size. The only feature that distinguishes the treatments of benign processes in the brain from malignant ones is that in the first case chemotherapy is rarely used.
In most clinics, the main method of treating operable benign brain tumors is excision of the tumor by opening the skull (craniotomy), followed by radiation therapy. The operation is impossible in cases of surgical inaccessibility of the tumor or in patients with poor general condition.
Methods of brain tumor treatment include:
- Gamma knife radiosurgery or Cyberknife radiosurgery
- Radiation therapy or chemotherapy
- Conventional or minimally invasive brain surgery
Radiation therapy is one of the main methods of treating patients with brain cancer that implies exposing the tumor to ionizing radiation.
The basic principle of radiation treatment is the destructive effect of radiation on the DNA structure of rapidly dividing tumor cells. Under the influence of radiation, tumor cells stop dividing and die, and the tumor itself is gradually destroyed.
Radiation therapy can usually be used:
- As the monotherapy at the early stages, in low-grade neoplasms located in the hard-to-reach regions (which limits surgical interventions)
- After brain surgery, to reduce the risk of recurrence both in the intervention site and in the distant organs
- Before brain surgery, to reduce the size of the tumor, which makes it possible to make surgery less complicated or to perform a surgery for initially inoperable brain tumors
- Combined with chemotherapy for better results
- To relieve symptoms (palliative care) at the terminal cancer stages
Gamma knife treatment
Surgical removal of brain tumors is always associated with great difficulties for both doctors and patients (the inevitable risk of surgery, the possibility of severe complications, a long period of postoperative recovery). Until recently, this was the only way to remove a brain tumor. Chemotherapy and external radiation, if necessary, were additional methods of brain tumor treatment, and only in the case of an inoperable tumor they became the main ones.
The Gamma knife radiosurgery has become an alternative to conventional brain surgery and has changed former stereotypes. Now, previously incurable cases of hard-to-reach and inoperable brain tumors can be subjected to treatment, regardless of the age and severity of the patients’ condition. Besides, unlike surgical intervention, during the Gamma knife procedure patients do not require anesthesia and postoperative rehabilitation. There are no incisions, scars, and complications associated with surgery.
The Gamma knife radiosurgery is based on the determination of the affected brain areas according to the stereotaxic principle and irradiation of these areas with gamma rays from 192-cobalt sources. The strength of the radiation emanating from each source is small enough and does not harm the brain. However, in the areas where all 192-beams are directed to, the concentration of radiation is quite high and effective.
Gamma knife Icon is the latest and most advanced version used in the Gamma knife radiosurgery.
The Gamma knife apparatus is integrated with the tomograph. The Icon Gamma knife can be used without a metal frame, if necessary. To fixate the patient's head, a special mask is used instead of a metal frame.
Also, this device can be used for the treatment of large brain tumors in vitally important regions. Thus, the side effects that can develop after this type of radiation therapy are minimized.
In many brain tumors, there are contraindications for the conventional surgery performing. Therefore, the Gamma knife radiosurgery has its benefits:
- Lower risk of complications after treatment associated with side effects
- A tumor can be treated without general anesthesia
- Gamma knife radiosurgery is a one day treatment
- The ability to return to normal life the very next day
- No surgical scars or wounds
Unlike the conventional protocols, the treatment of benign brain tumors with the radiosurgery Gamma knife stereotaxic system is non-contact, bloodless, and painless. Gamma knife radiosurgery is non-invasive and is successfully used in the treatments of neoplasms not only of the brain but also in metastatic brain tumors of other localizations.
The Gamma knife radiosurgery provides patients with bloodless brain tumor treatment without the need for a scalpel. Brain tumor Gamma knife treatment takes only a few hours and does not require intensive care or additional clinical services, during or after the procedure. The next day after the procedure, the patient can return to his usual everyday life.
Gamma knife treatment is carried out on an outpatient basis and in a comfortable environment. For each patient, a personal treatment plan is drawn up, during which a patient can maintain a normal lifestyle.
Most types of benign brain tumors are treated with Gamma knife radiosurgery, including:
- Neuromas of the auditory nerve and other cranial nerves
- Meningiomas
- Pineal gland tumors
- Pituitary tumors
- Brain cancer metastases
It should be emphasized that treatments with radiosurgery are indicated for patients with small tumors (up to 3-3.5 cm) that do not cause neurological symptoms, as well as for patients with a satisfactory quality of life and medium-sized neoplasms, with or without brain cancer symptoms. This is of particular importance when the tumor is located in the hard-to-reach and functionally important areas of the brain.
Radiosurgery is also indicated in cases where the previous surgical intervention did not lead to the complete disease cure, or when it recurs.
For elderly and debilitated patients, treatment with radiosurgery is also preferable. It is much easier for them to tolerate radiosurgery in comparison to the conventional surgery.
In some cases, when cancer metastasizes, radiosurgery has advantages over the conventional radiation therapy, in particular for tumors that are resistant to the conventional radiation therapy.
Gamma knife radiosurgery is most widely used in neuro-oncology. The main task of treatment is to control the growth of pathological neoplasms. This means that the treatment is considered successful when there are no signs of continued tumor growth after Gamma knife radiosurgery.
The modern method of treating benign brain tumors using the Gamma knife stereotaxic system gives hope for healing to many cancer patients, especially those ones whose tumors were found to be inoperable.
Where can I undergo Gamma knife radiosurgery?
Among best-rated hospitals, the best success rates in the Gamma knife radiosurgery are demonstrated by German hospitals:
- Gamma Knife and Radiotherapy Center Krefeld, Germany
- University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Germany
- Gamma Knife and Radiotherapy Center Hannover, Germany
You can check out the full list of hospitals on the Booking Health website.
Cost of treatment in foreign hospitals
The cost of treatment in hospitals listed on the Booking Health website is relatively low. As a rule, you can save up to the 40% of the initial prices by booking your treatment here.
With Booking Health, you can undergo the treatment of benign brain tumors at an affordable price. The cost of treatment varies, as the prices depend on the hospitals, the diagnosis, and the complexity of treatment.
The cost of treatment for a benign brain tumor in Germany is in the price range from 11,000 EUR to 14,206 EUR.
How can I undergo Gamma knife radiosurgery?
Arranging the Gamma knife radiosurgery by oneself can be challenging. It is quite difficult for a person who is not familiar with the details of the procedure to choose a clinic. Moreover, it is difficult to understand the specialization of a clinic, the cost, and the peculiarities of therapy. The easiest way to solve the problem is to use the services of a medical tourism agency.
Booking Health will facilitate the organization of Gamma knife radiosurgery providing the following services:
- Translation of the documents
- Communication with the clinic
- Assistance in obtaining a visa
- Booking tickets and transfer
- Accommodation booking for the period of Gamma Knife treatment, or anything related to a comfortable stay in the country.
We will also help to find the right clinic for you among the best hospitals in the world. It is just too much to do this on your own, as it reasonably requires specific knowledge and experience.
It is in our power to do everything to make the Gamma knife treatment in the best hospitals as comfortable as possible. Meanwhile, you can save your time and money to fight the disease.
If you need to get more information on hospitals, the cost of Gamma knife treatment, or assistance with the selection of the clinic, please leave a request on the Booking Health website. We guarantee that you will receive competent and reliable information. We will contact you as soon as possible, and answer all your questions.