Multiple intracranial meningiomas: diagnosis, biological behavior and treatment

Abstract

Multiple intracranial meningiomas (MIM) are a rare pathology when not associated with neurofibromatosis. The prevalence rate of those tumors varied from 2.3 to 8.9% of all intracranial meningiomas.

Objective: To present, analyze and discuss the cases of seven patients diagnosed with multiple intracranial meningiomas, describing their clinical and histological characteristics, as well as their biological behavior.

Method: The patients records, surgical descriptions, imaging studies and the histopathological exams were retrospectively reviewed. This is the largest series of MIM publisted in Brazil.

Results: This sample consists of five women and two men. The age varied from 42 to 84 (average 53.8). Twenty-two meningiomas were identified and varied from 1.5 to 192 cm(3), with an 62.8 cm(3) average volume. The number of procedures varied from 1 to 5 per patient. No surgical death occurred in this series.

Conclusion: Despite the multiplicity of tumors, number of recurrences, the new tumors, repeated operations and re-operations, radiotherapy and a number of postoperative complications, the patients experienced a long survival in conjunction with a fairly good quality of life.