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Elefante et al. Mini-invasive Surg 2021;5:7 Mini-invasive Surgery
DOI: 10.20517/2574-1225.2020.102

Editorial Open Access

Neuroimaging in meningiomas: old tips and new
tricks

Andrea Elefante , Camilla Russo , Martina Di Stasi , Elena Vola , Lorenzo Ugga , Fabio Tortora , Oreste De
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1
1
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Divitiis 2
1 Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, Division of Neuroradiology, University “Federico II”, Naples 80131, Italy.
2 Department of Neurosciences and Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, Division of Neurosurgery, University
“Federico II”, Naples 80131, Italy.
Correspondence to: Prof. Andrea Elefante, Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, Division of Neuroradiology, University
“Federico II”, Via S. Pansini 5, Napoli 80131, Italy. E-mail: aelefant@unina.it
How to cite this article: Elefante A, Russo C, Di Stasi M, Vola E, Ugga L, Tortora F, De Divitiis O. Neuroimaging in meningiomas:
old tips and new tricks. Mini-invasive Surg 2021;5:7. http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2574-1225.2020.102

Received: 5 Nov 2020 Accepted: 5 Nov 2020 Published: 3 Feb 2021
Academic Editor: Giulio Belli Copy Editor: Cai-Hong Wang Production Editor: Jing Yu

Abstract
Meningiomas are the most common neoplasm of the central nervous system. Usually benign and generally
discovered incidentally at imaging, meningiomas can also be responsible for severe neurological symptoms and
deficits, with potentially high morbidity and non-negligible mortality. Therefore, neuroimaging plays a crucial
role in meningiomas diagnosis, therapeutic planning, and long-term surveillance, for early detection of both
recurrence in treated patients and disease progression in untreated ones. Here, we review conventional findings
in meningiomas’ imaging, review the role for advanced diagnostic techniques, and offer an overview on possible
future neuroimaging applications.

Keywords: Meningioma, magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, central nervous system

INTRODUCTION
Meningiomas account for about 36% of all intra-cranial neoplasms, thus representing the most common
[1]
primary tumor of the central nervous system (CNS) . They take origin from meningeal membranes
covering brain, nerves, and spinal cord, arising from arachnoid mater formed by the cells within middle
meningeal layer; therefore, this type of neoplasm, although more common in intra-cranial space, can
be found all over the neuroaxis [Figure 1] [2,3] . More frequent in elderly (peak incidence in 6th-7th

© The Author(s) 2021. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
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