Meningiomas

Meningiomas are mostly benign (=non-cancerous) tumors originating from the arachnoid mater, which is one of the thin membranes (=meninges) protecting the brain and the spinal cord.  Most meningiomas are surrounded by a capsule and grow very slowly, displacing the brain tissue around it. Meningiomas are found twice as common in women as in men, predominantly between the 40^th and the 70^th year of age.

Meningiomas are one the most common primary brain tumor entities. They grow very slowly, which is why they do not cause any symptoms in 50% of the cases. If symptoms occur, they depend on the location of the tumor and include headaches, visual disturbances, dizziness, epileptic seizures, changes in personality, and other neurological deficits.

Treatment

The best treatment option for each patient must be evaluated from case to case depending on the tumor’s growth rate, its location and concurrent symptoms. In cases where the tumor was asymptomatic and diagnosed incidentally, further imaging follow ups might be senseful. In cases, where the tumor shows growing over time and in cases where there were symptoms present in the first place, surgical removal of the treatment of choice consists of surgical tumor resection.

The aim of surgery is to remove the tumor completely to significantly reduce the likelihood of recurrence. To achieve maximum resection without causing harm to the surrounding healthy brain tissue we use neuronavigation tools and high-tech operating microscopes.

When the tumor was removed, tissue samples are sent to the Neuropathological laboratories where the tumor tissue can be further investigated and categorised according to the World Health Organisation’s grading system. Depending on the tumor’s grading, a further radiation treatment might be necessary after surgery to get completely rid of remaining tumor cells.