Meningioma—viewpoint: Fractionated radiotherapy

Abstract

Fractionated radiation therapy (RT) is frequently used in the treatment of intracranial meningioma, either as a primary treatment, or more frequently, as an adjunct therapy. Benign intracranial meningiomas, despite being generally noninvasive and slow-growing, frequently occupy intracranial locations that make surgical interventions potentially morbid or preclude the use of single-fraction radiosurgery because of the proximity to critical neural structures. Fractionated RT permits safe treatment of such lesions with excellent therapeutic outcomes, often with minimal morbidity. Atypical and malignant meningiomas, characterized by their more aggressive clinical course and unfavorable histological features, benefit from the use of adjuvant fractionated therapy to reduce recurrence rates and delay progression of disease. This chapter reviews the role of fractionated RT in the management of intracranial meningioma; the role or radiosurgery is discussed in a separate chapter.​