Non-invasive technique effective against brain anomalies: Study

Pune: For sales executive Avanti (25) and factory worker Vyankatesh (45), stereotactic radiosurgery is nothing less than a lifesaver.
While Avanti faced challenges due to a brain condition called arteriovenous malformation (AVM), Vyankatesh suffered from brain tumour. But, thanks to the non-invasive stereotactic radiosurgery (a targeted radiation therapy), neither of them had to go through surgery in a traditional sense to remove the abnormalities.
“What I went through wasn’t exactly surgery as there was no cutting or incision involved,” Avanti said.
Stereotactic radiosurgery uses 3D imaging to target high doses of radiation to the affected area with minimal impact on the surrounding healthy tissue. It works by damaging the DNA of the targeted cells, which then lose the ability to reproduce. This eventually causes the tumours to shrink and obliterate over time. A long-term prospective study involving 56 patients who availed of stereotactic radiosurgery between 2008 and 2021 was carried out at Ruby Hall Clinic.
“The study demonstrated an 85% rate of complete obliteration of AVM with excellent clinical outcomes within three years of undergoing the targeted therapy. These patients were followed for three years post-therapy,” senior onco-neurosurgeon Dr Ashok Bhanage, chairman of the Cancer Centre at Ruby Hall Clinic, told TOI.
For Avanti, frequent severe headaches resembling migraines led to a diagnosis of AVM in 2018. The arteries and veins in an AVM lack the supporting network of smaller blood vessels and capillaries.
The absence of capillaries puts extreme pressure on the walls of the affected arteries and veins, causing them to become thin or weak. This may result in the AVM rupturing and bleeding into the brain causing potential risks.
Earlier, micro-neurosurgery, an invasive open surgery of the brain, was the first choice for AVMs. However, not every neurosurgeon is adept in this technically challenging speciality.
“Our study has clearly shown that linear accelerator-based stereotactic radiosurgery is proving to be a game-changer non-invasive technique,” Dr Bhanage said.
In Vyankatesh’s case, featuring a slow-growing tumour near the cerebellum’s eloquent area, demonstrates the triumph of radiosurgery.
(Patients’ names
changed on request)