Recurrent intracranial and spinal meningiomas: clinical and histological features

The clinical records and histopathological features of 424 patients treated surgically for meningioma over a 20-year period were reviewed. Forty-nine patients (11.5%) required a second operation and in 8 other cases (1.8%) there was clinical evidence of recurrence but further surgery was contra-indicated. The two independent factors associated with recurrence were incomplete surgical resection at the first operation and angioblastic histology. In contrast, recurrences were uncommon in the very elderly, in spinal lesions and fibroblastic tumors. Transitional and meningocytic meningiomas were equally represented in each group, and there was no individual intracranial site where meningiomas were especially likely to recur.