Pediatric Meningiomas

Abstract

While meningiomas account for more than one-third of brain tumors diagnosed in adults, they are extremely rare in children, accounting for less than 3% of pediatric brain tumors. Moreover, pediatric meningiomas exhibit distinct clinical and histopathologic features relative to adult meningiomas that make these tumors perhaps more devastating in this population. These pediatric tumors are more likely to be associated with concurrent high grade brain tumors, involve atypical sites, recur after treatment, and be associated with worse long-term outcomes. There are multiple syndromes, such as Neurofibromatosis II and Gorlin syndrome, that may precipitate pediatric meningioma development, as well as environmental risk factors such as exposure to ionizing radiation. The mainstay of treatment is gross total resection of the tumor. Although the mortality rate for pediatric meningioma is relatively low compared to adults (5% versus 25%), these patients are left to cope with severe late effects of multiple resections and radiation treatments. The goal of this chapter is to explore the etiology of pediatric meningiomas, clinical features, histopathological findings, treatment options, and long-term outcomes for these patients.