Our initial experience in the treatment of haemangioblastoma using con
ventional external beam radiotherapy and stereotactic radiotherapy (ra
diosurgery), by the linear accelerator method, is reported. Six haeman
gioblastomas in five patients were treated with a mean follow-up of 40
months (range 14-60). Five haemangioblastomas in four patients were t
reated with stereotactic radiotherapy, where four showed complete radi
ological response and the fifth was static. Neurological symptoms and
signs improved in those patients. The sixth haemangioblastoma was situ
ated close to the pituitary and optic chiasm, and was treated with con
ventionally fractionated external beam radiotherapy. The lesion showed
partial response. No complications were not-ed in this patient group.
This series complements and extends the relatively sparse published l
iterature demonstrating that radiotherapy is an effective option for t
reating haemangioblastomas. Radiosurgery often lends itself particular
ly well to these discrete lesions allowing highly focused treatment. F
or patients with multiple and metachronous cerebellar haemangioblastom
as as part of the von Hipple-Lindau syndrome, the data support a polic
y of conventionally fractionated external beam radiotherapy to the who
le cerebellum of 50-55 Gy followed, after a period of time, by radiosu
rgery to persisting lesions (patients 3 and 4).