The Role of Radiotherapy for Meningeal Melanocytomas – A 20 Year Update

BACKGROUND/AIM:Meningeal melanocytomas are rare tumors of the central nervous system and optimal treatment needs further clarification. This study compared subtotal resection (STR), STR plus radiation therapy (RT), gross total resection (GTR), and GTR+RT to better define the role of postoperative RT. PATIENTS AND METHODS:All cases reported in the literature were reviewed. Patients (n=184) with complete data were analyzed for local control (LC) and overall survival (OS). RESULTS:On univariate analysis, GTR (vs. STR) was associated with improved LC (p=0.016). When comparing the treatment regimens, best and worst results were found after GTR+RT and STR alone, respectively (p<0.001). On univariate analysis, GTR resulted in better OS than STR (p=0.041). Moreover, the treatment regimen had a significant impact on OS (p=0.049). On multivariate analyses of LC and OS, extent of resection and treatment regimen were found to be significant factors. After STR, RT significantly improved LC but not OS. After GTR, RT did not significantly improve LC or OS. CONCLUSION:GTR was significantly superior to STR regarding LC and OS. STR+RT resulted in significantly better LC when compared to STR alone.