A case report of an intracerebral parenchymal meningioma in a 28-year old male is presented. Meningiomas without dural attachment and malignant meningiomas are discussed and the pertinent literature is reviewed. The role of radiotherapy and radiosurgery for malignant meningiomas is also stressed.
Adult ; Humans ; Male ; Meningioma* ; Radiosurgery ; Radiotherapy

PURPOSE: To evaluate the role of postoperative radiotherapy in the management of primary or recurrent intracranial meningiomas. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A retrospective review of 34 intracranial meningioma patients referred to the Yonsei Cancer Center for postoperative radiotherapy between 1981 and 1990 was undertaken. Of the 34 patients, 24 patients received elective postoperative radiotherapy after total or subtotal resection(Group 1), and 10 patients received postoperative radiotherapy as a salvage treatment for recurrent tumors(Group 2). Ten patients received postoperative radiotherapy after total resection, and twenty-four after subtotal resection. Ten patients who had total tumor resection were referred for radiotherapy either because of angioblastic or malignant histologic type (4 patients in Group 1) or because of recurrent disease after initial surgery(6 patients in Group 2). Radiation dose of 50-56Gy was delivered over a period of 5-5.5 weeks using 4MV LINAC or Co-60 teletherapy unit. RESULTS: Overall actuarial progression free survival (PFS) at 5 years was 80%. Survival was most likely affected by histologic subtypes. Five year PFS rate was 52% for benign angioblastic histology, as compared with 100% for classic benign histology. For malignant meningiomas, 5 year PFS rate was 44%. The recurrence rates of classic, angioblastic, and malignant type were 5%(1/21), 80%(4/5), and 50%(4/8), respectively. The duration between salvage post-operative radiotherapy and recurrence was longer than the duration between initial surgery and recurrence in the patients of group 2 with angioblastic or malignant histology. CONCLUSION: Postoperative radiotherapy of primary or recurrent intracranial meningiomas appears to be effective modality, especially in the patients with classic meningiomas. In angioblastic or malignant histologies, a more effective approach seems to be needed for decreasing recurrence rate.
Disease-Free Survival ; Humans ; Meningioma* ; Radiotherapy* ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVE: Hemangiopericytoma is known as a malignant tumor originating from pericytes and rarely occurs in the central nervous system. We present 6 cases of pathologically confirmed meningeal hemangiopericytoma. METHODS: Retrospective study was done based on patient's recordings including radiological studies. Each case of tumors was treated surgically and postoperative radiotherapy was done. RESULTS: There were 5 cases of intracranial and 1 case of spinal hemangiopericytomas. Three of 5 intracranial hemangiopericytomas were located at tentorial region. Total tumor removal was done in 4 cases and postoperative local recurrence (or regrowth) was noted in 3 cases despite of postoperative external radiation therapy, 2 of which had died. CONCLUSION: Our cases show more frequent tentorial locations and poor clinical outcomes of hemangiopericytomas compared with meningiomas.
Central Nervous System ; Hemangiopericytoma* ; Meningioma ; Pericytes ; Radiotherapy ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies

This case presents a 34-year-old man who had a huge parasagittal meningioma. Initial treatment consisted of preoperative external carotid artery embolization and partial tumor resection. During the resection, we found that the tumor invaded the adjacent calvarium, and due to massive hemorrhage, total removal of the tumor was impossible. The patient was treated with intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) (25 Gy via 16 MeV) as an adjunctive therapy. Eight months after IORT, we were able to remove the tumor completely without surgical difficulties. IORT can be considered an useful adjunctive therapy for the superficially located, huge, and highly vascular meningioma.
Adult ; Journal Article ; Human ; Intraoperative Care* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Meningeal Neoplasms/surgery ; Meningeal Neoplasms/radiotherapy* ; Meningeal Neoplasms/pathology ; Meningioma/surgery ; Meningioma/radiotherapy* ; Meningioma/pathology ; Vascular Neoplasms/surgery ; Vascular Neoplasms/radiotherapy* ; Vascular Neoplasms/pathology

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy of adjuvant treatment in patients with high-grade meningioma. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed for patients with high-grade meningioma, World Health Organization grade 2 or 3, in a single center between 2003 and 2014. The patients were reviewed according to age at diagnosis, sex, the location of meningioma, degree of tumor resection, histological features, and type of adjuvant treatment. These factors were analyzed by Firth logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: Fifty-three patients with high-grade meningioma were enrolled. Thirty-four patients received adjuvant treatment; conventional radiotherapy or radiosurgery. Clinical follow-up ranged from 13–113 months with a median follow-up of 35.5 months. Gross total removal (GTR), Simpson grade 1 or 2, was achieved in 29 patients and, among them, 13 patients received adjuvant treatment. In the other 24 patients with non-GTR, conventional adjuvant radiotherapy and radiosurgery were performed in 11 and 10 patients, respectively. The other 3 patients did not receive any adjuvant treatment. Radiation-related complications did not occur. Of the 53 patients, 19 patients had suffered from recurrence. The recurrence rate in the adjuvant treatment group was 23.5% (8 out of 34). On the other hand, the rate for the non-adjuvant treatment group was 57.9% (11 out of 19) (odds ratio [OR]=0.208, p=0.017). In the GTR group, the recurrence rate was 7.5% (1 out of 13) for patients with adjuvant treatment and 50% (8 out of 16) for patients without adjuvant treatment (OR=0.121, p=0.04). CONCLUSION: Adjuvant treatment appears to be safe and effective, and could lead to a lower recurrence rate in high-grade meningioma, regardless of the extent of removal. Our results might be used as a reference for making decisions when planning adjuvant treatments for patients with high-grade meningioma after surgery.
Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hand ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Meningioma* ; Radiosurgery ; Radiotherapy ; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; World Health Organization

OBJECTIVE: Limited data are available concerning the outcome of the patients with atypical meningioma due to lack of the studies with large series. The authors review atypical meningioma retrospectively and analyzed various parameters concerning its outcome. METHODS: Of the 866 meningioma patients treated between 1990 and 2003, pathologically proven 54 atypical meningiomas were reviewed. Various factors of the patients were analyzed, and surgical specimens were re-examined blindly by neuropathologist without any patient information. Extent of surgical resection was determined according to Simpson's classification by reviewing the chart and postoperative scan if possible. RESULTS: Twenty-three (42.6%) had local recurrences during the follow-up, of which 13 (32.5%) of 40 complete excisions and 10 (71.4%) of 14 incomplete excisions. The median time to recurrence was 47 months, and the overall 3-, 5-, and 10-year local control rates were 62.4%, 41.5%, and 31.1%, respectively. Five (9.3%) died during follow-up period. The mean survival time was 123 months, and the overall 3-, 5-, and 10-year survival rates were 94.2%, 87.2%, and 78.5%, respectively. The extent of surgical excision was the most significant prognostic factor not for survival but for local control (p=0.2179 and 0.0005, respectively). Extracranial metastasis was not seen in our cases. CONCLUSION: Complete surgical excision is the most important factor in improving local control. Careful long-term follow-up is mandatory because atypical meningioma shows a broad range of aggressiveness and natural history.
Classification ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Meningioma* ; Natural History ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Radiotherapy ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to look for the possible efficacy of postoperative external irradiation for incompletely resected meningiomas. METHODS AND MATERIALS: From August 1981 to January 1997, forty-four patients with intracranial meningioma were treated by postoperative external irradiation. Of the 44 meningiomas, 18 transitional, 13 meningotheliomatous, 6 hemangiopericytic, 4 atypical, 2 fibroblastic and 1 malignant meningioma were identified. We classified all patients into two groups by the histology. The benign group was consisted of the meningotheliomatous, transitional and fibroblastic types. The malignant group was consisted of the atypical, hemangiopericytic and malignat types. In the means of surgery, 37 patients were resected incompletely and 7 patients were managed by biopsy only. After surgery, all patients were received postoperative external irradiation. Radiotherapy was deliverd using Co-60 or 4 MV photon beam to a total dose of 50 to 66 Gy (mean dose : 57.4 Gy) with a 1.8 to 2 Gy per fraction. The median follow-up was 48 months (range : 21~101 months). Multivariate analysis of the influence by age, sex, location, histology and radiation dose on local control has been done using Cox's proportional hazard model. RESULTS: 5-year local control rate was 93.8% for the benign histology and 51.8% for the malignant histology (p=0.0110) and overall local control rate at 5 years was 87.4%. The analysis of the prognostic factors, such as age, sex, location, and radiation dose were not significant except for the histology. CONCLUSION: Adjuvant postoperative external irradiation appears to be significantly improved local control in the patients with incompletely resected meningiomas.
Biopsy ; Fibroblasts ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Meningioma* ; Multivariate Analysis ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Radiotherapy

OBJECTIVE: The authors present the complications after resection of the tumors involving the cavernous sinus and the efficacy and role of the adjuvant therapy in the management of the residual or recurrent tumors invading the cavernous sinus. METHODS: From March 1998 to May 2002, ten patients with cavernous sinus tumors were treated in our hospital. The tumors limited to the outer wall of cavernous sinus were excluded in this study. Pathological diagnoses were meningiomas in seven and pituitary adenomas in three patients. RESULTS: Tumors of the extracavernous portion were removed totally except for two cases. Cavernous sinus was opened in seven patients, among which subtotal removal was achieved in four, and partial removal in three patients. In the remaining three patients, the cavernous sinus was neither opened nor exposed. All patients with intracavernous exploration were complicated by ptosis and extraocular muscles paralysis. Radiotherapy was administered to 6 cases. At present, there is no tumor progression except for one patient with malignant meningioma. CONCLUSION: In patients with large tumors involving the cavernous sinus, especially invading the cavernous internal carotid artery, we recommend subtotal or partial resection of the tumor followed by radiation therapy to prevent permanent postoperative sequele.
Carotid Artery, Internal ; Cavernous Sinus* ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Meningioma ; Muscles ; Paralysis ; Pituitary Neoplasms ; Radiotherapy

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effectiveness and tolerance of postoperative external radiotherapy for patients with intracranial meningiomas. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The records of thirty three patients with intracranial meningiomas who were treated with postoperative external irradiation at our institution between Feb, 1988 and Nov, 1999 were retrospectively analyzed. Median age of patients at diagnosis was 53 years with range of 17 to 68 years. Sites of involvement were parasagital, cerebral convexity, sphenoid ridge, parasellar and tentorium cerebelli. Of 33 evaluated patients, 15 transitional, 10 meningotheliomatous, 4 hemangiopericytic, 3 atypical and 1 malignant meningioma were identified. Four patients underwent biopsy alone and remaining 29 patients underwent total tumor resection. A dose of 50 to 60 Gy was delivered in 28-35 daily fractions over a period of 5 to 7 weeks. Follow-up period ranged from 12 months to 8 years. RESULTS: The actuarial survival rates at 5 and 7 years for entire group of patients were 78% and 67%, respectively. The corresponding disease free survival rates were 73% and 61%, respectively. The overall local control rate at 5 years was 83%. One out of 25 patients in benign group developed local failure, while 4 out of 8 patients in malignant group did local failure (p<0.05). Of 4 patients who underwent biopsy alone, 2 developed local failure. There was no significant difference in 5 year actuarial survival between patients who underwent total tumor resection and those who did biopsy alone. Patients whose age is under 60 showed slightly better survival than those whose age is 60 or older, although this was not statistically significant. There was no documented late complications in any patients. CONCLUSION: Based on our study, we might conclude that postoperative external beam radiotherapy tends to improve survival of patients with intracranial meningiomas comparing with surgery alone.
Biopsy ; Diagnosis ; Disease-Free Survival ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Meningioma* ; Radiotherapy* ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate

PURPOSE: To evaluate the role of fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (FSRT) in the management of benign brain tumors, we reviewed the clinical, and radiographic responses of patients treated. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Between March 1996 and March 2002, 36 patients with benign brain tumors were treated by FSRT. The pathological diagnoses consisted of pituitary adenomas (12 patients), craniopharyngiomas (5 patients), meningiomas (10 patients), and acoustic neurinomas (9 patients). Radiotherapy doses of 25 to 35 Gy (3~6 Gy/fraction, 5~10 fractions) were prescribed to the 85~90% isodose line, depending upon the location, size and volume of the tumors. The median clinical and radiographical follow- up periods were 31 (range, 2~74) and 21 (range, 4~56) months, respectively. RESULTS: In the 35 patients that could be evaluated for their clinical response, 13 (37.1%) were considered improved, 16 (45.7%) stable and 6 (17.2%) worse. Of the 33 patients who had radiographic studies, tumor shrinkage was noted in 17 (51.5%), tumor stabilization in 13 (39.4%), and tumor progression in 3 (9.1%). Of the 17 tumor shrinkage patients, 7 (21.2%) showed a complete response. Acute radiation-induced complications occurred in 11 (30.6%) patients. CONCLUSION: FSRT is considered a safe and effective treatment method for benign brain tumors, but large numbers of patients, with relatively long follow-up periods are needed to assess the exact role or effect of FSRT.
Brain Neoplasms* ; Brain* ; Craniopharyngioma ; Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Meningioma ; Neuroma, Acoustic ; Pituitary Neoplasms ; Radiotherapy*