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Published on: December 28, 2017
Radiation-induced meningiomas in pediatric patients
S D Moss1, G L Rockswold, S N Chou
1Department of Neurosurgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
Insights
Radiation-induced meningiomas are rare in children due to long latency periods. This study presents three pediatric cases of radiation-induced intracranial meningiomas, highlighting their occurrence after various childhood cancer treatments.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Oncology
- Neuro-oncology
- Radiation Oncology
Background:
- Radiation therapy is a common treatment for pediatric cancers.
- Long latency periods typically exist between cranial radiation and the development of secondary tumors like meningiomas.
- Pediatric patients are generally considered at lower risk for radiation-induced meningiomas due to their developmental stage.
Observation:
- Presents three rare cases of radiation-induced intracranial meningiomas in pediatric patients.
- Case 1: A 10-year-old boy developed a right frontal meningioma 6 years post-irradiation for medulloblastoma.
- Case 2: A 15-year-old boy developed a left temporal meningioma after irradiation for retinoblastoma at age 3.
- Case 3: A 15-year-old girl developed a right frontoparietal meningioma following irradiation for acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Findings:
- Radiation-induced meningiomas can occur in pediatric patients, even with shorter latency periods than typically observed.
- The presented cases demonstrate meningioma development following diverse pediatric cancer treatments involving cranial irradiation.
- A literature review identified only three similar cases, underscoring the rarity of these occurrences in the pediatric population.
Implications:
- Highlights the importance of long-term surveillance for secondary intracranial tumors in pediatric cancer survivors treated with cranial radiation.
- Suggests that pediatric patients may be susceptible to radiation-induced meningiomas earlier than previously thought.
- Emphasizes the need for continued research into the mechanisms and risk factors associated with radiation-induced tumors in children.
Abstract:
Radiation-induced meningiomas rarely have latency periods short enough from the time of irradiation to the clinical presentation of the tumor to present in the pediatric patient. Three cases of radiation-induced intracranial meningiomas in pediatric patients are presented. The first involved a meningioma of the right frontal region in a 10-year-old boy 6 years after the resection and irradiation of a 4th ventricular medulloblastoma. Review of our pediatric tumor cases produced a second case of a left temporal fossa meningioma presenting in a 15-year-old boy with a history of irradiation for retinoblastoma at age 3 years and a third case of a right frontoparietal meningioma in a 15-year-old girl after irradiation for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Only three cases of meningiomas presenting in the pediatric age group after radiation therapy to the head were detected in our review of the literature.
