The Natural History and Growth Rate of Meningiomas

Han, Jung Ho; Seo, Ho Jun; Kim, Dong Gyu; Jung, Hee Won

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the natural histories and growth rates of meningiomas, the authors perform this retrospective observational study and attempt to identify those factors predicting tumor growth.
METHODS
Between 1993 and 2004, a total of 83 patients were diagnosed by computed tomography(CT) scans or magnetic resonance (MR) imaging as having an intracranial meningioma, and were treated by observation only using regular clinical and radiological examinations. Twenty-six of these 83 patients, with available data were included in this study. Follow up periods ranged from 9 to 137 months (mean, 55.6 mo.; median, 60 mo.). The tumor volumes, absolute growth rates, and tumor doubling times were calculated.
RESULTS
Patient age and sex distributions were comparable to those of other studies, but exceptionally 16 meningiomas (62%) were located at the skull base in the present study. During follow-up monitoring, the majority of meningiomas grew, though 77% showed low absolute annual growth rates (< 1 cm3/yr). The tumor doubling times ranged from 2.87 to 201.72 years (mean, 42.91 yr). Based on imaging analysis, peritumoral edema and the absence of calcification were probable factors predicting tumor growth. Tumor-related symptoms seemed to be slightly related to tumor growth. Other factors, e.g., gender, age, tumor location, and T2-weighted signal intensities on MR imaging, were not significantly related to tumor growth.
CONCLUSION
This study shows that the majority of meningiomas are slow growing. However, variations in tumor growth are unexplained, thus individualized optimal treatment strategies should be provided in each meningioma.