Prediction of transient tumor enlargement using MRI tumor texture after radiosurgery on vestibular schwannoma

Purpose: Vestibular schwannomas (VSs) are uncommon benign brain tumors, generally treated using Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS). However, due to the possible adverse effect of transient tumor enlargement (TTE), large VS tumors are often surgically removed instead of treated radiosurgically. Since microsurgery is highly invasive and results in a significant increased risk of complications, GKRS is generally preferred. Therefore, prediction of TTE for large VS tumors can improve overall VS treatment and enable physicians to select the most optimal treatment strategy on an individual basis. Currently, there are no clinical factors known to be predictive for TTE. In this research, we aim at predicting TTE following GKRS using texture features extracted from MRI scans. Methods: We analyzed clinical data of patients with VSs treated at our