Clinical, radiological, and histopathological predictors for long-term prognosis after surgery for atypical meningiomas

Background Despite considerable rates of recurrence and mortality in atypical meningiomas, reliable predictors for estimating postoperative long-term prognosis remain elusive. Methods Clinical, histopathological, and radiological variables from 138 patients, including 64 females and 74 males (46% and 54%, median age 62 years), who underwent surgery for intracranial atypical meningioma were retrospectively analyzed. Associations between variables and recurrence and mortality were investigated using uni- and multivariate analyses. Results Gross total (GTR) and subtotal resection (STR) was achieved in 81% and 19% of cases, respectively. Within a median follow-up of 62 months, recurrence occurred in 52 (38%) and mortality in 22 (16%) cases. In patients who did not receive adjuvant irradiation, recurrence rates were higher after STR than after GTR (32% vs 63%, p = 0.025). In univariate analyses, only intratumoral calcifications on preoperative MRI ( p = 0.012) and the presence of brain invasion in the absence of other histological grading criteria ( p = 0.010) were correlated with longer progression-free intervals (PFI). In multivariate analyses, patient age was positively (HR 1.03, 95%CI 1.04–1.05; p = 0.018) and the presence of brain invasion as the only grading criterion (HR 0.37, 95%CI 0.19–0.74; p = 0.005) was negatively related with progression, while rising age at the time of surgery (HR 1.07, 95%CI 1.03–1.12; p = 0.001) was prognostic for mortality. Conclusions PFI was longer in brain invasive but otherwise histological benign meningiomas and in tumors displaying calcifications on preoperative MRI. Advancing patient age and lower Karnofsky Performance Score were associated with higher overall mortality.