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Radiotherapy for glomus jugulare tumors: A single-institution experience

Introduction: Glomus jugulare tumors are rare and usually benign tumors arising within the jugular foramen of the temporal bone. The management options for these locally aggressive tumors include surgery, radiotherapy, and observation. Here, we report outcomes of treating these tumors with radiotherapy. Materials and Methods: Twelve cases of glomus jugulare were treated with radiotherapy from August 2014 to July 2019. The patients were treated using Novalis Tx linear accelerator. The median follow-up period was 45 months (range: 5–60 months). The patients were evaluated for treatment outcomes, neurological status, and treatment-related side effects. Results: Nine patients (75%) were female. The median age was 47 years (range: 32–60 years). Eight patients (66.6%) had left-sided tumor. The median volume of the tumor was 10.81 cm3 (range: 4.4–207.62 cm3). All the patients had cranial nerve deficits ranging from cranial nerves V and VII–XII. The most common symptom was headache (75%), followed by loss of hearing and tinnitus (66.6%). All patients tolerated radiotherapy well with no Grade — reactions. There were no breaks during radiation due to toxicity. One patient reported improvement in swallowing and speech quality during the course of treatment. On follow-up, 5/12 (41.66%) patients reported improvement in neurological symptoms. The rest of them had stable neurological status. Follow-up magnetic resonance imaging showed regression in three patients and stable disease in the rest of them. Conclusion: Radiotherapy is a safe and effective treatment for glomus jugulare tumors. With newer techniques and image guidance, precise treatment delivery to the tumor is possible with protection of normal tissues. In our series, we report a local control of 100%. Hence, radiotherapy could be considered as modality of choice in these tumors.