NF2 mutations are associated with resistance to radiation therapy for grade 2 and grade 3 recurrent meningiomas

High grade meningiomas have a prognosis characterized by elevated recurrence rates and radiation resistance. Recent work has highlighted the importance of genomics in meningioma prognostication. This study aimed to assess the relationship between the most common meningioma genomic alteration (NF2) and response to postoperative radiation therapy (RT).

From an institutional tissue bank, grade 2 and 3 recurrent meningiomas with both > 30 days of post-surgical follow-up and linked targeted next-generation sequencing were identified. Time to radiographic recurrence was determined with retrospective review. The adjusted hazard of recurrence was estimated using Cox-regression for patients treated with postoperative RT stratified by NF2 mutational status.

Of 53 atypical and anaplastic meningiomas (29 NF2 wild-type, 24 NF2 mutant), 19 patients underwent postoperative RT. When stratified by NF2 wild-type, postoperative RT in NF2 wild-type patients was associated with a 78% reduction in the risk of recurrence (HR 0.216; 95%CI 0.068-0.682; p = 0.009). When stratified by NF2 mutation, there was a non-significant increase in the risk of recurrence for NF2 mutant patients who received postoperative RT compared to those who did not (HR 2.43; 95%CI 0.88-6.73, p = 0.087).

This study demonstrated a protective effect of postoperative RT in NF2 wild-type patients with recurrent high grade meningiomas. Further, postoperative RT may be associated with no improvement and perhaps an accelerated time to recurrence in NF2 mutant tumors. These differences in recurrence rates provide evidence that NF2 may be a valuable prognostic marker in treatment decisions regarding postoperative RT. Further prospective studies are needed to validate this relationship.