Treatment for schwannoma
Treatment for schwannoma depends on where the tumor is in your body and how fast it is growing.
Some treatment options include:
- Observe and wait: Your healthcare professional can advise closely monitoring the tumor rather than treating it if it is benign, developing extremely slowly, and you have no or very few symptoms. They’ll probably advise medical treatment if it eventually becomes bigger and/or starts to produce symptoms.
- Surgery: Your healthcare professional can suggest having the tumor surgically removed if it is spreading more quickly or posing other issues. The surgeon might only be able to remove a portion of the tumor, despite the fact that this is normally the desired outcome. The procedure can frequently be performed without causing any harm to the nerve because schwannomas develop in the sheath around the nerve. However, hearing loss frequently results after surgery for vestibular schwannomas.
- Radiation therapy: In stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), tumors are removed using many, perfectly focused radiation beams. In order to avoid potential complications, your doctor may advise SRS rather than surgery if the tumor is close to important blood vessels or nerves.
Additionally to chemotherapy drugs, immunotherapy may be used to treat malignant (cancerous) schwannomas.