Conservative treatment of vestibular schwannoma: growth and Penn Acoustic Neuroma Quality of Life scale in French language

The aim of this study was to determine the natural history of growth and quality of life (QoL) outcomes for vestibular schwannoma (VS) managed conservatively, and to validate the disease-specific Penn Acoustic Neuroma Quality-of-Life (PANQOL) scale in French language. We retrospectively studied 26 patients with VS managed conservatively. Patient characteristics and radiological findings were collected. Two scales were used to measure QoL: the Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36) and the PANQOL scale translated into French. Internal consistency and scores were compared with previous studies. The mean follow-up was 25 months (range 6-72). We observed tumour growth in 14 patients (53.8%), no growth in 12 patients (46.2%) and no case of tumour shrinkage. The mean tumour growth was 2.22 mm/year. No predictive factor of growth was found. Patients with vertigo or dizziness experienced a poorer QoL according to the SF-36 (Social Functioning and Emotional Role Limitation dimensions) and to the PANQOL scale (Balance and Energy dimensions). Our results were comparable with the literature using the SF-36. With the PANQOL scale, our scores were not statistically different with those from Dutch and North American studies except in the field of hearing (p = 0.019). Quality of life becomes essential in the management of VS. According to these results, we support a non-conservative strategy associated with vestibular rehabilitation for patients with dizziness or vertigo. The PANQOL is a validated specific scale for VS, which can be useful in French.