Türk Nöroşirürji Dergisi 2011 , Vol 21 , Num 2
Childhood Meningiomas
Mürteza ÇAKIR , Yusuf TÜZÜN
Atatürk Üniversitesi, Tıp Fakültesi, Nöroşirürji Anabilim Dalı, Erzurum, Türkiye Meningiomas are tumors that develop from meningothelial cells or differentiate in this way and they are known to be the most common neoplasms seen in the adult age group. They are very rare in children and have specific locations and clinic and prognostic characteristics, unlike adult meningiomas, in this age group. Pediatric meningiomas generally arise at the end of the first decade and the beginning of the second decade. It is especially remarkable that they are observed in both genders at similar frequencies and more commonly have an infratentorial and ventricular location compared to adults. Similar to cranial head-occupying lesions, meningiomas also result in symptoms depending on the location, size and growth speed of the tumor. Almost 40% of meningiomas of childhood are associated with neurofibromatosis. The tumor has a poor prognosis with a high malignancy and recurrence rate in children, unlike the case in adults. The treatment of meningiomas is the extraction of the mass basically using surgical methods. Total extraction of the mass generally enables a complete and long-term recovery. Patients with a small and asymptomatic meningioma can be followed until the tumor gets bigger or becomes symptomatic. However, the longterm prognosis is worse than expected in children with intracranial meningiomas treated surgically. The prognostic criteria are the location of the tumor, its pathological grade, its association with neurofibromatosis and the possibility of complete surgical extraction. The limited case series in the literature regarding childhood meningiomas are quite inadequate and multi-center studies are required. Anahtar Kelimeler : Childhood, Meningioma