Benign Tumor
As an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, we have access to the latest treatment information for a benign tumor as well as clinical trials of the National Cancer Institute.
Acoustic neuroma is a benign tumor of the eighth cranial nerve in the brain. This benign tumor usually causes hearing loss, ringing in the ears or balance problems. The Gamma Knife can be used to stop the tumor's growth. Without treatment, a benign tumor will eventually cause deafness in most patients. Treatment has resulted in elimination of further tumor growth or reduction in tumor size in more than 90 percent of patients.
Useful hearing can be preserved in about 35 percent of Gamma Knife cases but progressive hearing loss can occur after treatment. Permanent numbness or weakness of the face is very rare and occurs in fewer than two percent of cases. Periodic MRI scans are obtained (usually at one year intervals) to monitor patient progress after removal of the benign tumor.
Learn more about benign tumors at the Comprehensive Cancer Center of Wake Forest University. As a national leader in cancer care & research and ranked among the best treatment facilities in the country, it is one of only 38 cancer centers in the nation designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as a Comprehensive Cancer Center. NCI designation is an assurance of excellent care and comprehensive treatment options, including access to the latest clinical trials.
Benign tumor information courtesy of the National Cancer Institute
Copyright: Wake Forest University School of Medicine
and North Carolina Baptist Hospital. All rights reserved.
Medical Center Boulevard
Winston-Salem, NC 27157
(336) 716-2011