Background: With the increasing availability of radiological imaging,
detection of incidental intracranial meningiomas in asymptomatic
patients has increased dramatically. The best management of
incidentally found meningiomas is not as clear. A systematic review
and meta-analysis of the studies currently available allows for a better
understanding of the natural course of asymptomatic meningiomas, a
platform for more research, and a foundation on which a standardized
guideline for following these tumors may be built.
Methods: A systematic review of the English language literature
published before October 2017 with no lower date limit was carried
out. Data collected from the articles included years of the study, study
location, study design, number of patients with asymptomatic
meningiomas with follow-up, number of meningiomas, inclusion of
NF2 patients, mean age, gender, whether tumor was defined as growing
or not, tumor location, MRI characteristics, initial size of the tumors,
growth rates, and outcome of follow-up. Meta-analysis of the collected
data was carried out.
Results: Twenty studies were identified and included in the metaanalysis
(1108 patients, 1175 meningiomas). Meta-analysis results
revealed an inverse relationship between age of patients and tumor
growth (P |
