Management of Tumors of Middle Fossa

Abstract

The middle cranial fossa is the site of several tumors. These tumors may be primarily intracranial, arising from the meninges or cranial nerves, such as meningiomas or schwannomas. Other tumors, such as chordomas and chondrosarcomas, may arise from the bone and cartilage. Some tumors can originate from extracranial tissues and secondarily invade the middle cranial fossa structures, such as nasopharyngeal carcinoma, esthesioneuroblastoma, lymphoma and systemic metastasis. The majority of middle cranial fossa tumors are meningiomas; among them, sphenoid wing meningiomas are the most common.