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Growth pattern changes of meningiomas: long-term
analysis
Nakasu S, Fukami T, Nakajima M, Watanabe K, Ichikawa M, Matsuda M
Department of Neurosurgery, Shiga University of Medical Science, Ohtsu,
Shiga, Japan. snakasu@belle.shiga-med.ac.jp
Objective. Although tumors are generally expected to grow exponentially, it
is not known whether meningiomas retain a constant growth rate or not
because of the lack of long-term follow-up.
We analyzed the long-term growth
pattern of meningiomas.
Methods. Twenty patients with a total of 31
meningiomas were radiologically followed for 4.1 to 18.3 years (median, 10.1
yr).
Seven patients (including two neurofibromatosis cases) had incidental
tumors.
Another 13 patients with symptomatic tumors were followed after
surgery.
Their volumes were measured, and their time-volume curves were
plotted.
Results. The growth curves of four atypical meningiomas fitted
better to an exponential curve (R > 0.95).
Two calcified tumors did not
grow.
Although the other benign tumors grew exponentially or linearly, their
tumor volume doubling times in the initial phase were shorter than those in
the later phase in most cases.
Meningiomas without calcification tended to
grow exponentially, whereas those with calcification were likely to reveal a
linear growth pattern (P = 0.002, chi2 test).
This was supported by the
observation that in two patients, the tumor growth pattern changed from
exponential to linear and from linear to no growth with progression of
calcification.
Conclusion. Three growth patterns of meningiomas were
demonstrated.
Atypical meningiomas grew exponentially.
Conversely, benign
meningiomas revealed exponential, linear, or no growth.
The growth pattern
of the latter may change with the appearance of calcification.
PMID: 15854242 [PubMed - in process]
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