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DOI: 10.1055/s-0032-1314143
Life Expectancy after Diagnosis of Vestibular Schwannoma in Patients Age 70 Years or Older
Background: Epidemiological studies have shown that over the last decades, the number of patients diagnosed with vestibular schwannoma has increased, the mean size of the tumor has decreased, and the mean age of diagnosis has increased. As a consequence, we now have a large group of elderly patients with small vestibular schwannomas.
Objective: To evaluate the life span of conservatively and surgically treated patients, we compared these two groups of patients with the background population in Denmark.
Methods: From January 1976 to December 2008, 344 patients at 70 years of age or older were diagnosed with vestibular schwannomas in Denmark. Of the 344 patients, 177 patients had died, either after an observation period or years after surgery. These patients form the basis of the study.
Results: Both the wait-and-scan group and the operation group had a longer overall life expectancy compared with the overall population, and the cause of death in these patients is unrelated to their vestibular schwannomas. The two groups showed no significant difference in contacts with the hospital departments.
Conclusion: We found no difference in the life span between patients with vestibular schwannoma managed conservatively and those managed surgically. The cause of death in these patients is unrelated to their vestibular schwannomas.