Cochlear radiation dose and hearing loss in patients with vestibular schwannoma undergoing radiosurgery: systematic review()

OBJECTIVES: To determine the cut-off point of the cochlear radiation dose as a risk factor for hearing loss in patients with vestibular schwannoma treated with radiosurgery. METHODS: A systematic review of the literature was performed without language or publication year restrictions in the MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, LILACS/VHL and Cochrane Library databases. Studies that met the following criteria were included: 1) population: adults of both sexes who underwent radiosurgery for vestibular schwannoma treatment; 2) exposure: cochlear radiation; 3) outcome: hearing loss; 4) type of study: cohort. Two independent reviewers conducted the entire review process. The registration number in PROSPERO was CRD42020206128. RESULTS: From the 333 articles identified in the searches, seven were included after applying the eligibility criteria. There was no standardization as to how to measure exposure or outcome in the included studies, and most studies did not present sufficient data to enable meta-analysis. CONCLUSION: It was not possible to determine a cut-off point for high cochlear dose that could be considered a risk factor for hearing loss.