Brain invasion alone may not mean a more aggressive meningioma
Original title: Meningiomas classified as grade 2 due to brain invasion alone have better progression-free survival than other atypical meningiomas.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was tested in people. That is the most reliable kind of research we share.
Doctors looked back at people already treated, so nothing new is being offered yet.
The short version
Some grade 2 meningiomas came back less often than their grade suggests.
What was studied. Doctors reviewed records of 131 people who had a grade 2 meningioma removed at one hospital between 2003 and 2023. They compared people whose tumor was called grade 2 only because it grew into brain tissue with people who had other grade 2 features.
What they found. Growth into brain tissue was seen in 78 (60%) patients. In 45 (34%) patients, that growth was the only reason the tumor was called grade 2. The tumor came back in 17.8% of that group (8/45). It came back in 37.2% of the other grade 2 patients (32/86).
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: If a meningioma is called grade 2 only because it grew into brain tissue, it may be less likely to come back than the grade suggests. The grade may not tell the whole story. It is worth asking your care team which features your own tumor had.
What it doesn't mean: This does not change how tumors are graded today. It was one look back at old records from a single hospital, not a planned trial. It did not test any treatment, and it is not a cure. The authors say more research is needed before brain invasion is dropped as a grade 2 reason.
Source: PubMed, September 11, 2026 · Read the original
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