A rare brain cancer near the ear was first mistaken for a non-cancer tumor
Original title: Gamma Knife radiosurgery delivered to internal auditory canal glioblastoma under a presumed diagnosis of vestibular schwannoma: illustrative case.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was tested in people. That is the most reliable kind of research we share.
This is a lesson from one patient's case, not a tested treatment.
The short version
Doctors report one man whose fast-growing brain cancer was treated with focused radiation before they knew what it was.
What was studied. This report is about one 39-year-old man. His tumor was in the small canal that carries the hearing nerve. Doctors first thought it was a non-cancer nerve tumor.
What they found. He quickly lost hearing on one side. His face grew weak, and he had trouble walking. Doctors treated him with focused radiation called stereotactic radiosurgery: Radiation aimed at a small target, in one visit or a few. There is no cutting, despite the name. See the glossary. Eight days later he got worse, and a tissue test showed glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4, the highest grade. It grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary, a fast-growing brain cancer. He chose not to have more treatment and died 2.7 months after surgery, after the cancer spread.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: Only 6 cases like this had been reported before. This is the seventh. The doctors say some signs should make doctors think of cancer. One sign is symptoms that get worse fast. Another is a tumor that lights up strongly on a PET scan. They suggest taking a tissue sample first, before giving radiation.
What it doesn't mean: This is a report about just one person. It does not test a new treatment. It does not mean most tumors near the ear are cancer. It is a lesson for doctors about checking carefully first. It is not a new treatment and not a cure.
Source: PubMed, September 21, 2026 · Read the original
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