Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Jun 1;10(2):CNS72.
doi: 10.2217/cns-2021-0003. Epub 2021 May 21.

Meningioma: not always a benign tumor. A review of advances in the treatment of meningiomas

Ilaria Maggio  1 , Enrico Franceschi  1 , Alicia Tosoni  1 , Vincenzo Di Nunno  1 , Lidia Gatto  1 , Raffaele Lodi  2 , Alba A Brandes  1
Affiliations
Review

Meningioma: not always a benign tumor. A review of advances in the treatment of meningiomas

Ilaria Maggio et al. CNS Oncol. .

Abstract

Meningiomas are the most common primary intracranial tumors. The majority of meningiomas are benign, but they can present different grades of dedifferentiation from grade I to grade III (anaplastic/malignant) that are associated with different outcomes. Radiological surveillance is a valid option for low-grade asymptomatic meningiomas. In other cases, the treatment is usually surgical, aimed at achieving a complete resection. The use of adjuvant radiotherapy is the gold standard for grade III, is debated for grade II and is not generally indicated for radically resected grade I meningiomas. The use of systemic treatments is not standardized. Here we report a review of the literature on the clinical, radiological and molecular characteristics of meningiomas, available treatment strategies and ongoing clinical trials.

Keywords: anaplastic; atypical; benign; clinical trials; malignant; meningioma; radiotherapy; stereotactic radiation; surgery; treatment.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

References

    1. Gittleman HR, Ostrom QT, Rouse CD et al. Trends in central nervous system tumor incidence relative to other common cancers in adults, adolescents, and children in the United States, 2000 to 2010. Cancer 121(1), 102–112 (2015). - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ostrom QT, Gittleman H, Liao P et al. CBTRUS Statistical Report: primary brain and other central nervous system tumors diagnosed in the United States in 2010–2014. Neuro Oncol. 19(Suppl. 5), v1–v88 (2017). - PMC - PubMed
    1. Achey RL, Gittleman H, Schroer J, Khanna V, Kruchko C, Barnholtz-Sloan JS. Nonmalignant and malignant meningioma incidence and survival in the elderly, 2005–2015, using the Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States. Neuro Oncol. 21(3), 380–391 (2019). - PMC - PubMed
    1. Goldbrunner R, Minniti G, Preusser M et al. EANO guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of meningiomas. Lancet Oncol. 17(9), e383–391 (2016). - PubMed

    2. •• European Association of Neuro-Oncology guidelines for meningiomas.

    1. Chamberlain MC. Meningiomas. : Primary Central Nervous System Tumors: Pathogenesis and Therapy. Norden AD, Reardon DA, Wen PCY (). 355–375 Humana Press, NJ, USA: (2011).

LinkOut - more resources