Incidental meningiomas: a current and increasingly common challenge

Excerpt

Meningiomas represent approximately 13 to 26% of all primary intracranial tumors, and most meningiomas are benign, WHO grade I neoplasms. In the study published by Naslund et al., the authors note an increasing rate of diagnosing incidental, asymptomatic meningiomas between 2018 and 2019 as compared to between 2008 and 2009 within the region of western Sweden served by a single university hospital [1]. This increase was observed despite a comparable number of individual patients undergoing neuro-imaging studies during the two time periods. In part, the authors attributed the increased diagnosis of incidental meningiomas as a result of more contrast enhanced radiologic studies and an older population undergoing scans in the more recent time interval. Brain imaging in the private sector and the community hospitals increased by 254% and 47%, respectively. While the detection of incidental meningiomas had increased, the utilization of active monitoring to follow them was 14.7% in the early era and 18% in the recent era. In incidental meningioma patients at last follow up within 3 years of diagnosis, resection was performed in 10.5% from the early era and 12.1% from the recent era, respectively. No patients were treated with stereotactic radiosurgery or radiation therapy. …