Steroids for Facial Nerve Function Protection in Post-surgical Vestibular Schwannoma Patients

Launched by BEIJING TIANTAN HOSPITAL · Aug 7, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying whether giving steroids after surgery can help protect the facial nerve in people who have a vestibular schwannoma, which is a non-cancerous tumor near the ear. The facial nerve controls movements in the face, so the goal is to see if steroids can help keep facial movement normal after surgery to remove the tumor. The study will compare patients who receive steroids with those who receive a placebo (a treatment with no active medicine) to see which group has better facial nerve function after surgery.

To join this study, participants need to be between 18 and 60 years old and have a single vestibular schwannoma that has not been treated before. They must have normal facial movement before surgery and good facial nerve function during the operation, confirmed by special monitoring tests. People who need steroids for other reasons, have certain medical conditions, or are pregnant cannot join. Participants will undergo surgery as usual, and then receive either steroids or placebo to see how their facial nerve recovers. This study is not yet recruiting but aims to find better ways to protect facial movement after tumor surgery.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • 1. Age between 18 and 60 years
• • 2. Diagnosed with untreated unilateral vestibular schwannoma
• • 3. No facial palsy before surgery (House-Brackmann grade I)
• • 4. Intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring confirms good facial nerve function preservation, defined as: a）Post-tumor resection, evoked compound muscle action potential amplitude \>420 μV under 0.05 mA stimulation；and b）The amplitude is \>60% of baseline value measured before dural opening
• • 5. Signed informed consent
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • 1. Contraindications for craniotomy
• • 2. Patients requiring corticosteroids during the perioperative period, or with known corticosteroid contraindications
• • 3. Patients or first-degree relatives with a confirmed diagnosis of neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2)
• • 4. Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) score \<90 before disease onset
• • 5. Pregnant or planning to become pregnant during the study period
• • 6. Participation in other interventional clinical trials
• • 7. Judged unsuitable by the investigators