[Meningioma and pregnancy]

Meningiomas are one of the most frequent primary intracranial tumours, representing one-third of all intracranialneoplasms. The vast majority of meningiomas are histologically benign, but recurrence and progression is quite frequent. They occur usually between the 6th and 7th decade, the female/male ratio is 3:2. Although rare in pregnancy, when occurring, they can cause serious, life-threatening complications due to rapid growth and unfavourable localisation. There are two dominant hypothesis explaining rapid growth in pregnancy: the role of hormonal effects and hemodynamic changes. Several studies tested these theories but none provided unequivocal answer probably because the pathomechanism is complex and multifactorial. We provide an overview of the pathomechanism of meningiomas in pregnancy with emphasis on data obtained by advanced neuropathological, molecular biological, bioinformatic, imaging and epidemiological methods. A better understanding of the processes leading to meningioma development and growth in pregnancy will help us to design personalized therapy and reduce morbidity and mortality.