Multimodality Therapy of Patients with Refractory Meningiomas

Recurrent and refractory meningiomas are a clinical challenge and treatment at the time of recurrence is not well delineated. Treatment with surgery and/or radiation remain the mainstay, but each has their limitations and risks. The search for an adjuvant systemic therapy continues and as many of the initially promising approaches have not had reproducible responses. Bevacizumab has shown some efficacy in controlling recurrent disease and could be useful in disease that is multifocal or in close proximity to critical structures. Other targeted therapies, as well as immunotherapy, are being studied and trials are in development. Though we are hopeful that these novel therapies will benefit patients with refractory meningiomas, we approach them with some trepidation. This is due to prior failures of immunotherapy and targeted therapy in central nervous system disease. In addition, there is known difficulty in developing trials and assessing response with these slow-growing tumors.