Intracranial meningiomas

Meningiomas, well known since the Cushing's monograph, are extra-parenchymal tumors, usually benign, which develop at the expense of arachnoid cells. Despite their potential to evolve locally and their slow growth kinetics, they can take on certain aspects of malignancy which still pose difficult, if not insoluble, problems for the neurosurgeon. Indeed, certain localizations and certain aspects of their evolution (recurrent, multiple or malignant meningiomas) sometimes represent a real challenge, posing difficult therapeutic problems with higher morbidity and mortality. Meningiomas are common, accounting for 15-20% of all primary brain tumors in adults. They are twice as common in women as in men, and increase in the second half of life, peaking in the fifth decade. There is no unambiguous clinical presentation, and the full range of intracranial neurological symptoms can be described, depending above all on the size and location of the tumor.