Association of thyroid disease and intracranial meningiomas: a retrospective analysis with external validation

The scope of comorbid conditions with meningiomas is understudied. There is limited published evidence to date suggesting higher prevalence of thyroid diseases in patients with meningiomas. This retrospective study was designed to evaluate this association.

The medical records from 584 patients with intracranial meningiomas were reviewed. The prevalence of thyroid disease was calculated as well as odds ratios to compare patient cohorts. Subsequently, the results were externally validated using SlicerDicer data from a second institution's electronic medical record.

Within the Endeavor Intracranial Meningioma cohort, thyroid disease was found in 196/584 (33.6%): hypothyroidism in 154/584 (26.4%), nodular disease in 34/584 (5.8%), thyroid cancer in 9/584 (1.5%), and hyperthyroidism in 8/584 (1.4%) patients. An additional 9/584 (1.5%) patients had a different thyroid disease or diagnosis. Our external validation with patients only from the second institution yielded significant association of meningioma with thyroid hormone medication use (OR = 6.1), hypothyroidism (OR = 7.5), thyroid cancer (OR = 14.6), hyperthyroidism (OR = 5.9), and thyroid nodules (OR = 10.8). Comparing meningioma patients to patients with glioblastoma yielded a similar association between meningioma and general thyroid disorders (OR = 2.1), thyroid hormone usage (OR = 2.1), hypothyroidism (OR = 1.7), thyroid cancer (OR = 3.1), and thyroid nodules (OR = 7.5). These observations were not confounded by female overrepresentation.

This study confirms thyroid disease, particularly hypothyroidism, to be a common comorbid condition in patients with intracranial meningiomas in two independent datasets. Further research is needed to assess the role of thyroid disorders in the outcomes for patients with meningioma.