Many people with malignant meningioma miss radiation after surgery
Original title: Underutilization of Adjuvant Radiation in Malignant Meningioma: Socioeconomic Variation in a Population-Based Cohort.
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.
This looked back at care records of real people. It did not test anything new.
The short version
Radiation after surgery is advised for this tumor, but most people in this study did not get it.
What was studied. Researchers used a large US cancer records database covering 2000 to 2022. They found 1,803 people with malignant meningioma, and looked at the 1,338 who had surgery to see who also got radiation.
What they found. Only 40.3% of the people who had surgery got radiation afterward. Use of radiation did go up over the years, from 24.3% in 2000 to 2004 up to 50.5% in 2020 to 2022. People in the highest income group got radiation more often than people in the lowest group, 46.7% compared with 28.9%. Age and race were not linked to who got radiation.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: Radiation after surgery is the advised care for most of these tumors. This study suggests many people never get it. If you or your loved one had surgery for this kind of tumor, it is fair to ask the care team whether radiation is part of the plan and why.
What it doesn't mean: This is not a new treatment and not a cure. The researchers only looked back at old records, so they cannot prove what caused the gaps in care. Money may not be the real reason, and the records do not say why any one person skipped radiation. It also does not mean radiation is right for every person. Your own doctor knows your case.
Source: PubMed, September 29, 2026 · Read the original
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