摘要
Background: The information about paediatric meningiomas is poor. The purpose of this study was to review the clinical characteristic, treatment considerations and prognosis of paediatric meningiomas. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed a series of 32 paediatric patients with meningiomas who received surgical resection at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University between January 2002 and December 2010. Results: The study group included 17 boys and 15 girls (range: 2–18 years, mean: 13.7 years). Thirteen patients were in the first decade of life and 19 patients were in the second decade. The most common symptoms were headache (33. 3%) and epilepsy (25%), followed by cranial nerve dysfunction: distortion of commissure, vision disorder, acoasma and unconsciousness. The size of lesions was ranged 35–65 mm (mean 42.3 mm). Of these 32 patients, 16 were revealed WHO class I meningiomas, 5 were WHO class II, and 11 manifested WHO class III. Nine of 32 patients met the criteria that had tumor recurrence within follow-up. Conclusions: Paediatric meningiomas usually have larger size, higher pathologic grade and unusual location. The influential factors for recurrence include lesion location, histological features and extent of removal. Complete tumor resection is the best choice to prevent recurrence and improve the prognosis.
