Correlation between cytogenetic and histopathological findings in 75 human meningiomas

The correlations between cytogenetic and histopathological findings were analyzed in 75 human meningiomas. The tumors were classified according to increasing degrees of anaplasia into three grades: Grade I, benign; Grade II, atypical; Grade III, anaplastic. In 45 tumors of Grade I (benign), we more often observed a normal karyotype or monosomy 22. In 23 tumors of Grade II (atypical), we observed karyotypes with structural and/or numerical abnormalities with the presence of telomeric associations in 8 of them. These last tumors were fibroblastic. In seven Grade III tumors (anaplastic), we also observed complex abnormalities, and in one case, we observed telomeric associations. Our observations show that complex chromosome abnormalities and telomeric associations are observed in tumors that histologically display a certain degree of anaplasia. It is possible that the result of histopathological and cytogenetic correlations might represent a prognostic factor in meningiomas.