Increased Risk of Subsequent Meningioma Among Women with Malignant Breast Cancer

Despite the increasing evidence of the association between breast cancer and meningioma in women, the relationship between these tumors remains improperly examined. In this study, we aim to identify the sociodemographic and clinicopathologic features of women with breast cancer associated with a higher risk of developing a meningioma.

The SEER (Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results) database (18 registries) was used to identify women with breast cancer as their first neoplasm. The risk of subsequent meningioma was reported as the standardized incidence ratio (SIR) and was analyzed by sociodemographic and clinicopathologic subgroups. Results are given as SIR (95% confidence interval [CI]).

A total of 564,516 women diagnosed with breast cancer between 2004 and 2016 were included for analysis. A 26% increased risk of meningioma development (SIR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.19-1.33; P < 0.05) was found in the cohort compared with the general population. Patients aged between 18 and 49 years (SIR, 2.16; 95% CI, 1.78-2.61; P < 0.05) and those with a more advanced tumor stage (stage IV; SIR, 2.39; 95% CI, 1.71-3.25; P < 0.05) were at a higher risk. Hormone receptor expression and treatment modality subgroups were at a similar risk compared with the general population.

Our study corroborated the known association between these tumors and found a 26% risk of meningioma development in women with breast cancer, with younger patients and those with a more aggressive disease having a higher than expected risk.