The Risk of Malignancy following Stereotactic Radiosurgery
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An analysis of the malignancy risk following Gamma Knife Stereotactic Radiosurgery
IRAS ID
331721
Contact name
Julian Cahill
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 10 months, 31 days
Research summary
Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery is used worldwide to treat a number of different pathologies in the head. Most of these are non-cancerous (benign) tumours or vascular malformations. As with any radiation treatment, there is a theoretical risk of the tumour turning cancerous or the treated area developing a new cancer as a response to the treatment.
This study looks for the number of patients who develop a cancer after treatment, comparing it to the precise anatomical location of treatment, and evaluates if the two are related. This gives the numbers of patients that may have a cancer caused by this treatment. This number is then compared with the national cancer incidence datasets to evaluate whether it is equivalent to that which would be expected in an equivalent untreated population.
There are many thousands of patients treated by the Gamma Knife worldwide every year and the risk is incredibly small. Therefore, large centres such as Sheffield, with many years of patient data, are in a unique position to be able to evaluate the real risk of this malignant development.
This department's previously published papers were the first to be published on this subject, and as such were very well received internationally and have high citation rates. It is anticipated that this updated study will be equally well received by the international community and will provide far more robust data than is possible in many other countries.REC name
London - Camberwell St Giles Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/LO/0983
Date of REC Opinion
20 Mar 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion