Meningiomas

Treatment

Treatment of a brain tumor at Mayo Clinic is a team process. Specialists from the brain tumor treatment team work together to provide the high-quality, integrated care for which Mayo Clinic is known. Generally, a neurologist who has expertise and additional training in neuro-oncology coordinates the care team.

Many people with meningioma have no symptoms and the meningioma is found incidentally or on a scan done for another reason. For these people, carefully watching the tumor is often appropriate. If the tumor is pressing on surrounding tissue, with or without symptoms, your doctor will likely recommend surgery to remove the tumor.

Options

Because new treatments continually develop, several options may be available at different points in treatment. The most appropriate treatment for you depends on several factors, including tumor location and your health. Your doctor will discuss the pros and cons of each option during treatment planning. Every effort is made to tailor the treatment program to the needs of you and your family.

• Initial treatment steps. Steroid medications may be needed to reduce swelling and inflammation of brain tissue. Your doctor may also prescribe medications to help control seizures. A shunt may be inserted if the tumor causes a buildup of fluid in the brain (hydrocephalus). A shunt is a long, thin tube that is placed in the brain and then threaded under the skin to another part of the body, usually the abdomen. Excess fluid from the brain then drains into the abdominal cavity where it is reabsorbed.
• Surgery. Surgery is usually the first approach for meningiomas that need to be treated if the tumor is located in an area that is accessible to the surgeon. Because meningiomas tend to have well-defined edges and do not invade the brain, complete removal is often possible, unless the risk of damaging the nerves and blood vessels is too great. Mayo's skilled and experienced neurosurgeons use MRI-guided computer-assisted brain surgery to precisely map the brain and accurately and aggressively treat brain tumors.
• Radiosurgery. Stereotactic radiosurgery gives a very focused beam of radiation to a tumor to kill cancer cells. In meningiomas that cannot be removed due to their location in the brain, radiosurgery may shrink or control the tumor.
• External beam radiotherapy. If the risks of surgery or radiosurgery are too great, you may receive smaller doses of radiation over several sessions. This is called fractionated radiotherapy because the total dose is divided into many fractions. However, this treatment may damage surrounding normal cells because the radiation is not as focused as it is in radiosurgery.
• Chemotherapy and other drug therapy. Chemotherapy typically is not effective for meningiomas. However, when surgery and further radiation are no longer feasible or safe, Mayo doctors may recommend chemotherapy options.

Learn more about meningiomas at MayoClinic.com.