Neurofibroma medical therapy
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Sara Mohsin, M.D.[2] Shanshan Cen, M.D. [3]
Overview
Overview
The predominant therapy for neurofibroma is surgical resection. Adjunctive chemotherapy and medications such as ACE inhibitors may be required.
Medical Therapy
Medical Therapy
Chemotherapy
- Once a plexiform neurofibroma has undergone malignant transformation, chemotherapy can be used as treatment[1]
Radiation
- Radiation is generally not used as a treatment for plexiform neurofibromas because of concerns that this could actually promote malignant transformation
- There has even been a documented case of a schwannoma being induced from a neurofibroma due to radiation therapy[2]
Medications
- ACE inhibitors have been proposed as a novel treatment of neurofibromas[3]
- ACE inhibitors are currently used to:
- Treat hypertension and congestive heart failure
- Avert remodeling and reinfarction after myocardial infarction
- Ameliorate diabetic nephropathy and other renal diseases
- ACE inhibitors work by indirectly down regulating TGF-beta, which is a growth factor that has been shown to influence the development of tumors[3]
References
References
- ↑ Neurofibroma. Dr Bruno Di Muzio and Dr Maxime St-Amant et al. Radiopaedia.org 2015. http://radiopaedia.org/articles/neurofibroma Accessed on November 17, 2015
- ↑ Isler MH, Fogaça MF, Mankin HJ. (1996). “Radiation induced malignant schwannoma arising in a neurofibroma”. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. 325 (325): 251–5. doi:10.1097/00003086-199604000-00031. PMID 8998885.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Namazi H. (2008). “ACE inhibitors: a novel treatment for neurofibroma”. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. 15 (5): 1538–9. doi:10.1245/s10434-007-9737-5. PMID 18157575.
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