Sphenoid Wing Meningiomas: Surgical Outcomes in a Series of 141 Cases and Proposal of a Scoring System Predicting Extent of Resection

Abstract

Objective: Sphenoid wing meningiomas are the third most common group of intracranial meningiomas. Their management is a challenge because of their bone invasion potential and their proximity to neurovascular structures and the cavernous sinus.

Methods: A cohort of 141 patients with sphenoid wing meningioma who were operated on and followed up between 1986 and 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. Demographic data, clinical and radiologic features, surgical results, and follow-up data are presented. The effects of adjuvant treatments (radiosurgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy) are reviewed. The invasion pattern of tumors and other factors were noted to analyze the extent of resection. Recurrence/regrowth rates were also analyzed.

Results: There were 96 female and 45 male patients with a median age of 51 years (range, 17-87 years). The median follow-up was 62 months (range, 1-303 months). Tumors were grouped as spheno-orbital (31 patients), lateral (34 patients), middle (35 patients), and medial (41 patients). Gross total resection was achieved in 98 patients, and 43 tumors were resected subtotally. One hundred and twenty of these cases had World Health Organization grade I pathology, whereas the remainder had grade II. In the follow-up, there were 14 recurrences of totally resected tumors, and 24 regrowths were observed in the subtotally resected group. No invasion pattern was strongly predictive of extent of resection alone, and a scoring system was built up and proposed.

Conclusions: Sphenoid wing meningioma is a large group with characteristics associated with skull base meningiomas and convexity meningiomas. The results of surgery and other adjuvant treatments are heterogeneous.

Keywords: Meningiomas; Skull base tumors; Sphenoid ridge meningiomas; Sphenoid wing meningiomas.