Meningiomas

The most common benign tumors are meningiomas, pituitary adenomas, and acoustic neurinomas. This time, I will explain about the meningioma, which is the most common benign brain tumor. They predominantly occur in middle- aged women. They grow very slowly, over months or even years. The growth pattern of the tumors is that of expansion and they rarely destroy adjacent brain tissue. Most of them are benign, but some of them are malignant and such subgroups are more common in men.

Meningiomas often arise from arachnoid membranes, which are very thin membranes covering the brain. The most effective therapy for those tumors is resection surgery. Once the tumor is totally removed, it is expected to be cured. But removing them can be sometimes difficult because of how they are attached to the critical structure of the brain. In those cases, radiotherapy after surgery is recommended.

Some of the tumors regrow after surgery if not removed completely or considered as totally resected by surgeons. If this happens, further surgery or radiotherapy may be needed.

I have two important messages for you here. First, if you have a meningioma in your brain, you should consider whether surgery is really necessary. If you don't have any symptoms from the tumor, it may be better to wait-and-see. Second, if you have to undergo the operation, you should select the hospital and doctor. The first operation is the most important for curing the disease.