Abstract
Decision-making criteria for optimal management of meningiomas in neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) patients is hampered by lack of robust data, particularly long-term natural history. Seventy-four NF2 patients harboring 287 cranial meningiomas followed up for a mean period of 110.2 months were studied retrospectively. The median number of meningiomas per patient was 3. The mean maximum diameter of meningiomas at diagnosis was 14.3 mm, with a mean annual growth rate of 1.5 mm. Sixty-six percent of tumors showed no or minimal growth. In a subgroup of patients with 3D MRI, 7.3% of meningiomas (28% of patients) had a volumetric growth rate 20% or more per year. Twenty-five de novo meningiomas appeared during the follow-up (8.7%) and demonstrated a higher growth rate than other meningiomas (6.6 mm/year). Fifty-six meningiomas (23%) in 34 NF2 patients (45.9%) were operated on during the follow-up period. Among symptomatic resected meningiomas, grades II and III tumors were found in 29% and 6% of cases, respectively, with a remarkable intratumor histological heterogeneity. Single nucleotide polymorphism array analysis of 22 meningioma samples in 14 NF2 patients showed increasing chromosome instability with increasing grade, the most frequent losses being on 22q, 1p, 18q, and 6p. This study provides clues to improve tailored treatment of meningiomas: de novo and brain edema-associated meningiomas require active treatment. Future clinical trials in NF2 need to focus specifically on meningiomas as the primary endpoint and should include patients with meningiomas growing 20% or more per year in order to assess new treatments.