Case Of Atypical Meningioma Research Articles

Persistent Trigeminal Artery in Endonasal Resection of Skull Base Tumors: A Systematic Review.

Background Primitive persistent trigeminal artery (PTA) is an uncommon embryologic vascular communication between the carotid and basilar arteries, which can be intimately involved by skull base tumors (SBT). Owing to its rarity, skull base surgeons should familiarize themselves with the anatomical variations of PTA to avoid catastrophic complications. Objective To appraise and summarize the available evidence of PTA involved by SBTs while advocating a standardized algorithm for the surgical planning of these patients. Methods MEDLINE and PubMed databases were searched using keywords pertaining to PTA and SBTs. Demographics, clinical presentation, radiographic findings, outcomes, and adverse events were extracted and analyzed. Results A total of 13 cases between 1973 and 2015 were identified. The mean patient age at presentation was 43 years with predilections toward females and pituitary adenomas. Headaches and endocrine abnormalities were the most common symptoms. The tumors were more frequently associated with Salas medial-type PTA (70%) and Saltzman type-I PTA (31%) than seen in the general population in angiographic studies. We also present a new case of atypical meningioma with Saltzman type-1 PTA. Conclusion With endoscopic approaches to SBTs becoming more commonplace, surgeons may encounter this anatomical abnormality more frequently. It is important for both otolaryngologists and neurosurgeons to gain a complete understanding of the anatomical variations and neurointerventional capabilities for the successful endoscopic management of these situations. Level of Evidence: 4.

Surgical management of ventrally based lower cervical (subaxial) meningiomas through the lateral approach: Report on 16 cases

ObjectivesSpinal meningiomas are benign and relatively rare tumors. These tumors present about only 25% of primary spinal tumors. Although spinal meningiomas are considered as slowly growing benign tumors, yet they may cause devastating neurological deficits rendering patients crippled. This study describes performing a posterolateral approach to surgically treat anterior based cervical meningioma. We hereby report on 16 cases operated upon using this approach, and we present our results and display some of our cases with special emphasis on achieving total resection, rate of recurrence and the neurological outcome. Patients and methodsThe study reports on 16 patients who underwent surgery for anterior based cervical meningioma. Data regarding age, sex, duration and type of symptoms, levels, topographical locations, surgical results, and histological features are presented. ResultsThe age ranged between 19 and 78 years old with a mean age of 48.3 years. The initial symptom among most patients (13 patients) was neck pain, numbness and radicular pain were found in 9, and clumsiness of the upper extremity in 7 patients. Total excision with dural coagulation was done in 11 cases, and spilt dura technique was feasible in 4 cases where the tumor together with the inner dura layer was resected. We encountered one case of atypical meningioma with Pia and arachnoid invasion which rendered total excision too risky and only subtotal resection was achieved. There were no major surgical or permanent neurological complications. Lateral mass fixation was used in 2 patients with a strictly midline anterior tumor in which a total facetectomy was done. All patients were followed up for an average of 3.6 years. Tumor recurrence was seen in 3 patients. ConclusionsThe lateral approach allows for safe and total removal of ventral cervical meningioma. This approach gives a direct avenue to the tumor without risk of destabilizing the vertebral column. The rate of recurrence is the same when using the anterior approach but is less invasive with less blood loss.

Smear technique for intraoperative diagnosis of central nervous system neoplasms

Background: Smear cytology has become increasily popular as an alternative to frozen section for the rapid diagnosis of most of central nervous system lesions. The aim of this study was to assess the utility of smear technique for the rapid diagnosis in the neurosurgical biopsies and to compare the smear cytological features with the final histopathological examination. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective study conducted in the Department of Pathology of BP Koirala Memorial cancer Hospital for a period of one year. Sixty cases of clinically suspected CNS tumors were sent for intraoperative smear cytological examination and histological examination. Both techniques were then compared for their ability to diagnose as well as grade the tumors. Results: Gliomas (51.6%) were the most frequently occurring tumors in the total cases. Diagnostic accuracy of squash/smear technique achieved was 88 %( 53/60) when compared with histopathological diagnoses. In two cases, smears comprised of blood clots and no opinion was possible in cytology. Complete discrepancy was seen in five cases that included two cases of atypical meningioma, a one case each of germinoma, glioblastoma and metastatic tumor. Conclusion: Smear technique is a fairly accurate, rapid, easily reproducible and cost effective tool to diagnose brain tumours. Smear cytology is of great value in Intraoperative consultation of central nervous system lesions. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jpn.v4i7.10296 Journal of Pathology of Nepal (2014) Vol. 4, 544-547

Optic nerve seeding of atypical meningiomas presenting with subacute visual loss: 2 case reports with genetic characterization

Meningiomas rarely cause CSF dissemination, and CSF seeding to the optic nerve (ON) is extremely rare. This is the first report of 2 cases of atypical meningioma with subacute visual loss due to ON seeding. The authors present the genetic characteristics of these atypical meningiomas with CSF dissemination. The patient in Case 1 was a 36-year-old woman with a 1.5-cm mass within the left ON, and the patient in Case 2 was a 70-year-old woman with a 0.9-cm mass around the right ON. Both individuals had undergone multiple surgeries for primary lesions and local recurrent lesions. They presented with subacute visual loss, and both tumors were completely resected. The pathological diagnosis was atypical meningioma with high MIB-1 indices and p53-positive cell ratios in each case. Comparative genomic hybridization showed significant chromosomal copy number alterations similar to the results of previous surgeries, confirming that the tumors were disseminated lesions. The present findings suggest that genetic characteristics, such as 1p and 10qcen-23 losses and 17q and 20 gains, shared by the 2 cases might be associated with CSF dissemination of meningiomas.

術中圧挫標本が診断に有用であった異型性髄膜腫の 1 例

術中圧挫標本が診断に有用であった異型性髄膜腫の 1 例

Atypical meningiomas – A case series

Meningiomas, in particular the Atypical (grade 2), vary greatly in their behaviour and prognosis. Over a 19year period, we operated on 169 meningiomas (on 86 patients) and of those, 9 cases of atypical meningiomas were found which met the 2007 World Health Organization (WHO) classification. The 9 patients represented 5.3% of all meningiomas. The average presenting age was 51years and average follow-up was 103months with 5 patients passing away between 38 and 219months after diagnosis. The time to first recurrence was 24months with 1 patient suffering 12 recurrences and 2 cases having metastases. Although we had a small number of atypical meningiomas, we believe our paper highlights the unpredictable and difficult nature of these tumours.

Spinal meningiomas: Age-related features

Objectives Spinal meningiomas mainly occur in old patients, with a remarkable female prevalence. This study investigates the different features between younger and older patients in an adult population (>18 years). Materials and methods A surgical series of 120 adult patients operated on for spinal meningiomas at the Neurosurgical Clinic of the “Federico II” University of Naples is reviewed. In this series 117 patients with a sporadic spinal meningioma were divided in two groups: group I including 30 patients (25.6%) younger than 50 years of age, group II including 87 patients (74.4%) older than 50 years. 3 patients had a spinal meningioma and neurofibromatosis. Several parameters, including sex, predisposing factors, tumor location and growth, histology, recurrences, proliferation index Ki-67 LI, and outcome, are considered and compared in the two age groups. Results Group I showed an incidence of high cervical spine (C1–C4) meningiomas higher than group II (23.3% vs 3.4%, p = 0.026) and lower rate of thoracic tumors (60% vs 82.7%, p = 0.04). No significant differences of histological type and Ki-67 LI were found. Group I had 2 cases of atypical meningiomas (6.6% vs 0%, ns). Recurrences occurred in 6.6% of group I and 2.6% of group II, with no significance. In recurrent meningiomas values of Ki-67 LI were significantly higher than values in not recurrent meningiomas ( p = 0.0001), whereas no difference of estrogen and progesterone receptor expression was noted. Conclusions Younger adult patients with spinal meningiomas show not rare occurrence of NF (9%) and significantly higher incidence of high cervical and lower incidence of thoracic localizations with respect to the older patients. On the other hand, there are not significant differences of histology, Ki-67 LI and recurrence rate, excepting for a slight difference for atypical meningiomas.

Use of a collagen biomatrix (TissuDura®) for dura repair: a long-term neuroradiological and neuropathological evaluation

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical, neuroradiological, and neuropathological outcomes of patients treated with equine collagen foil (TissuDura) as a dura mater substitute during cranial and spinal neurosurgical procedures. All patients treated at the Department of Neurosurgery of the Second University of Naples with TissuDura between 2005 and 2009 were included. Dural reconstruction was performed using TissuDura, overlaid 1 cm over the dural defect with additional fixation using fibrin glue. No surgical sutures were used. Patients underwent postoperative contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance scans at 1 week, 1 month, and 1 year after surgery to detect any cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks, infections, inflammations, or CSF circulation in the surgical region. Dural reconstruction was performed in 74 patients, including 50 patients with tumors, two with C2 neurinoma, two with acoustic neurinoma, six with Chiari I malformation, two with severe head injury, and 12 requiring spinal surgery. Clinical and neuroradiological findings were normal and no signs of graft rejection or CSF leaks at postoperative follow-up were observed. In two cases of atypical meningioma, re-operation of the dural reconstruction was performed after 1 year. No adherences between brain and neodura were detected, and histopathological investigations demonstrated dural regeneration. Following dural reconstructions with TissuDura without surgical sutures, no local toxicity or complications were observed for up to 1 year. TissuDura demonstrated elasticity, non-reactivity, and good adaptability. The overlay technique using fibrin glue was simple and fast. Future studies and longer follow-up are needed to confirm the efficacy of TissuDura.

Possible Role of Matrix Metalloproteinase in Osteolytic Intracranial Meningiomas

Abnormalities of the bone are frequently encountered in patients with meningioma, and hyperostosis and endostosis are common bone alterations in these tumors. Extensive bony destruction is very unusual in patients with meningioma. We report six cases of intracranial meningioma associated with an osteolytic lesion of the skull and discuss the underlying mechanisms that may be responsible for bone destruction in patients with meningioma. Six patients were classified into three groups, severe, moderate and mild, according to the degree of osteolytic bony destruction. The tumor was classified as intracranial or extracranial, depending on its location. We investigated the potential role of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) in meningioma-associated osteolysis. The levels of MMP expression were determined by gelatin zymography, reverse transcription-quantitative PCR analysis (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemical analysis. Complete surgical removal of the lesion was performed in each patient. Histological examination revealed benign meningioma in four cases, and two cases of atypical meningioma. Patients did not have a poor prognosis except one case of recurred atypical meningioma. Gelatin zymography and RT-PCR detected high levels of MMP-2 in almost all extracranial masses in comparison with the intracranial masses and MMP-9 in two. There was no difference in the severity of bone destruction. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed MMP-2 expression in the vicinity of the bone destruction, and a few MMP-9-positive stainings were observed. Osteolysis of the skull in patients with meningiomas might not be indicative of malignant pathological features and poor prognosis. Invasion to the extracranial portion and osteolysis might be associated with MMP-2 expression in meningioma.

Bone involvement predicts poor outcome in atypical meningioma.

The authors identified clinical features associated with progression and death in atypical meningioma (AM). Forty-seven cases of primary AM treated at Massachusetts General Hospital were retrospectively evaluated for clinical features. Associations with progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival were assessed. The estimated median PFS was 56 months (95% CI 35 months-not estimable). The overall 3- and 5-year PFS rates were 65% (95% CI 44-80%) and 48% (95% CI 26-67%), respectively. The median survival time and 5- and 10-year survival rates were 158 months (95% CI 103 months-not estimable), and 86% (95% CI 69-94%) and 61% (95% CI 35-79%), respectively. Subtotal resection was associated with increased rate of progression compared to gross-total resection (p=0.05) and trended toward an association with decreased survival (p=0.09). Bone involvement was associated with an increased rate of disease progression (p=0.001) and decreased survival (p=0.04). Bone involvement remained significantly associated with progression after Bonferroni adjustment for multiple comparisons (p=0.008) and in bivariate Cox regression models. Seventy-eight percent of patients with bone involvement at primary diagnosis had tumor recurrence within bone, whereas only 25% of patients without evidence of bone invasion at primary diagnosis experienced osseous recurrence. Osseous involvement is associated with a poor outcome in patients with AMs; bone assessment is therefore extremely important. Further investigation is warranted to assess the effectiveness of bone resection and/or bone-directed radiation therapy in improving outcome.