What Makes Multiply Recurrent Meningiomas Most Aggressive Form of Brain Cancer? Study Finds - Video

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified clinical and genetic predictors of multiply recurrent meningiomas (MRMs), a most aggressive form of this common brain tumor. Published in Science Advances, the study opens new opportunities for future development of potential biomarkers and therapeutic agents for these challenging tumors.

The team studied the tumors of 1,186 patients with primary meningiomas. Thirty-one of these primary tumors went on to be multiply recurrent meningiomas. The researchers compared clinical and genetic characteristics of multiply recurrent meningiomas with those of non-recurrent meningiomas (NRM). “We found that, compared to non recurrent meningiomas, multiply recurrent meningiomas are more numerous, larger and more common in men than in women,” said co-senior and co-corresponding author Dr. Akash J. Patel, associate professor of neurosurgery and member of the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor.

The researchers analyzed the chromosomes of the tumors and found that multiply recurrent meningiomas have greater chromosomal instability and loss than non-aggressive meningiomas. “It has been well established that chromosomal instability is present in many human cancers and that increased instability has been associated with more aggressive cancers,” Patel said. In addition, the researchers found increased DNA methylation in multiply recurrent meningiomas genomes, an indication that the expression of certain genes is different in these tumors.

Reference: Sangami Pugazenthi et al., Multiomic and clinical analysis of multiply recurrent meningiomas reveals risk factors, underlying biology, and insights into evolution.Sci. Adv.10,eadn4419(2024).DOI:10.1126/sciadv.adn4419