Orbital Meningiomas
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Meningiomas are neoplasms arising from arachnoid cap cells in the meninges. They can arise in the orbit as primary orbital meningiomas (ie. optic nerve sheath) or extend into the orbit from intracranial structures (ie. sphenoid wing), as secondary orbital meningiomas.
Disease Entity
Orbital Meningiomas
Disease
Meningiomas are typically slow growing, benign neoplasms. Primary orbital meningiomas arise from within the orbit and include: optic nerve sheath meningiomas (ONSM), which are the most common tumors of the optic nerve sheath, and primary ectopic meningiomas.
Secondary orbital meningiomas arise from adjacent structures listed below and extend into the orbit via the optic canal or the superior orbital fissure: sphenoid wing (SOM), anterior clinoid, cavernous sinus, tuberculum sellae, and olfactory groove.
Etiology
Meningiomas are neoplasms arising from arachnoid cap cells and can arise anywhere arachnoid cells are found. In primary orbital meningiomas, they arise from the meningothelial cells around the optic nerve sheath. Or rarely, ectopic meningeal tissue in the orbit [1].
Incidence
Meningiomas are the most common primary intracranial tumors that account for approximately 19% of primary intracranial tumors. However, orbital meningiomas account for only approximately 4-8% of total orbital lesions where approximately 2-4% are optic nerve sheath meningiomas and 2-4% are secondary orbital meningiomas. [2][3][4]Primary ectopic orbital meningiomas are very rare with a few case reports.[5]
Incidence of orbital meningioma is much higher in women compared to men, similar to intracranial meningiomas. The average age of onset is approximately 45 years old in orbital meningiomas. However, approximately 7% of ONSM occur it patients younger than 20 years of age and are often more aggressive in the pediatric population [6].
Risk Factors
Although the risk is low with advances in techniques in radiation therapy, there are reports of orbital meningioma after radiation therapy. Radiation induced meningiomas are the most common brain tumors caused by radiation [7].
Patients with neurofibromatosis type 2 have a mutation in the tumor suppressor gene merlin, and are susceptible to developing multiple meningiomas. Deletion of chromosome 22 is found in more than 50% of meningiomas. [8]
General Pathology
There is significant heterogeneity in the histopathology of meningiomas as can be appreciated above by the several subtypes described in the WHO classification system. In general, whorls of meningothelial cells are present. Cells may be spindle shaped and separated by fibrous connective tissue. Calcified whorls, or psammoma bodies, may also be present. On immunohistochemistry, meningiomas are positive for vimentin, which stains for mesenchymal tissue. Estrogen and progesterone receptors may also be present, which might explain the growth of meningiomas during pregnancy.
Classification
The World Health Organization has established criteria to grade meningiomas from benign to malignant based on histologic features. According to the most recent edition (2007), Grade I meningiomas are considered benign and lack anaplastic features; Grade II meningiomas are defined by having 4+ mitoses per 10 high power fields (HPFs), brain infiltration, and 3 or more of the following features: small cell change, increased cellularity, prominent nucleoli, sheet like growth, or necrosis; and Grade III meningiomas have 20+ mitoses per 10 HPFs with histologic features of malignancy.
| WHO Grade 1 (benign) subtypes include: | Meningiothelial, fibrous (fibroblastic), transitional (mixed), psammomatous, angiomatous, microcytic, secretory, lymphoplasmacyte-rich, metaplastic |
|---|---|
| WHO Grade 2 (anaplastic) subtypes include: | Choroid, clear cell, atypical |
| WHO Grade 3 (malignant) subtypes include: | Papillary, rhabdoid, anaplastic |
Orbital meningiomas are most commonly WHO Grade I. The most common subtype in the orbit was meningothelial and transitional was the second most common subtype [9].
Diagnosis
History
Progressive painless vision loss with proptosis
Physical examination
Patients may present with the following signs due to either mass effect and compression or infiltration of the optic nerve. On exam, patients may have proptosis, which should be measured using an exophthalmometer, optic nerve pallor or optic nerve head edema, decreased visual acuity, visual field deficits, globe displacement, extraocular movement restriction, or optociliary shunt vessels.
Symptoms
Patients may experience the following symptoms to varying degrees based on severity of disease and location of tumor compression/ infiltration. Symptoms include vision loss, diplopia, headache, and retrobulbar pain.
Diagnostic Imaging
Meningiomas typically appear isodense to the optic nerve and hyperdense to brain on CT, and will have homogeneous enhancement on contrast studies. Approximately 20% have calcification. “Tram track” sign can be seen on axial imaging of the enhancing tumor surrounding the optic nerve. Hyperostosis of surrounding bone can be seen as well. Attention should be paid to canal involvement and correlated with the clinical exam. On MRI, meningiomas are isointense on T1 weighted imaging, and mildly hyperintense on T2 weighted imaging. On contrast studies, meningiomas exhibit homogeneous enhancement. Helpful signs include a dural tail (this can be seen in other conditions and is not pathognomonic) and sunburst vessels [1].
Management
Observation
Management of orbital meningiomas are primarily determined by patient symptoms. In patients with visual acuity of 20/50 or better patients are usually managed conservatively [6][10] with biannual neuroimaging and ophthalmologic examinations with visual field testing and color plates. Frequency of neuroimaging and exams can be decreased once tumor is shown to be stable. Younger patients should be examined more frequently.
Surgery
The goals of surgery in orbital meningiomas includes long term tumor control, recovery of optic nerve and cranial nerve function, and cosmesis. Surgery for ONSM is typically reserved for those with intracranial extension to the optic chiasm or in a patient with a blind eye with significant disfiguring proptosis. Management of orbital meningiomas involves an interdisciplinary team with an oculoplastic surgeon and neurosurgeon. Surgical resection or debulking of secondary orbital meningiomas are determined by location of the tumor and associated symptoms. Complete surgical resection is often not possible due to the delicate structures involved, and patients with orbital meningiomas often require periodic debulking surgeries. Mariniello et al. points out that visual function in patients with SOMs mainly depends on the presence and extent of compression of the optic nerve at the entrance or within the optic canal. They emphasize that optic canal decompression is important for relieving optic nerve compression [11]. Studies show that about 75% of patients have stable or improved visual acuity after surgery. Improvement in visual acuity is reported to range from 30-50%. Proptosis is improved in 85-90% of patients after surgery [12][11][10].
Radiation therapy
Recent data suggests radiation therapy should be considered prior to surgery in symptomatic patients with ONSM. The optic nerve and chiasm are the most sensitive structures in the area even compared to adjacent cranial nerves. In single dose radiosurgery, damage to the optic nerve has been shown to be dose dependent with very low incidence of optic neuropathy with doses <10 Gy and up to a 78% incidence with doses >15 Gy. Incidence of damage to the optic chiasm and nerve is extremely low with fractionated therapy up to a total dose of <60 Gy, as long as the fraction dose is <2 Gy. [13]
A study by Turbin et al. compared visual outcome of four treatment groups in patients with ONSM: radiation only, surgery only, radiation and surgery, and observation. Radiation alone had the best visual outcome and authors recommend fractionated radiotherapy of 50-55 Gy as initial treatment in patients with ONSM [14]. Similarly, it is thought that adjunctive radiation therapy for residual tumor after surgical resection may improve outcomes with decreased recurrence and stable or reduced tumor size. A study by Peele et al. showed there was no recurrence in 42 patients treated with radiation during a 4 year follow up period after subtotal resection or recurrent tumor. In the non-irradiated group, there was recurrence in 42% of patients with subtotal resection of primary tumors.[15]
Some tumors that are benign on initial histological analysis may undergo malignant transformation following radiation treatment and then can become clinically much more aggressive with rapid growth and regrowth after surgical debulking.
Complications
Post-operative complications include trigeminal hypesthesia, oculomotor palsy, and facial nerve palsy. Ocular complications associated with radiation therapy include radiation retinopathy, iritis, cataracts and retinal vascular occlusions. [6][12][16]
Prognosis
Rate of recurrence ranges from about 17% [17] to 42% [11]. The recurrence rate is lower in patients with radiation therapy after surgery. However, this is also dependent upon the WHO grade of the tumor.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Weerakkody Y, Gaillard F. Radiopaedia. http://radiopaedia.org/articles/meningioma. Accessed October 10, 2015.
- ↑ Shields JA, Shields CL, Scartozzi R. Survey of 1264 patients with orbital tumors and simulating lesions: The 2002 Montgomery Lecture, part 1. Ophthalmology. 2004;111(5):997–1008. doi:10.1016/j.ophtha.2003.01.002.
- ↑ Deshmukh S, Das D, Bhattacharjee H, Kuri GC, Magdalene D, Gupta K, Multani PK, Paulbuddhe V, Dhar S. Profile of brain tumors having ocular manifestations in a Tertiary Eye Care Institute: A retrospective study. TNOA J Ophthalmic Sci Res 2018;56:71-5.
- ↑ Gündüz K, Kurt RA, Erden E. Ectopic orbital meningioma: report of two cases and literature review. Surv Ophthalmol. 2014;59(6):643-648. doi:10.1016/j.survophthal.2014.01.009
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Eddleman CS, Liu JK. Optic nerve sheath meningioma: current diagnosis and treatment. Neurosurg Focus. 2007;23(5):E4. doi:10.3171/FOC-07/11/E4.
- ↑ Umansky F, Shoshan Y, Rosenthal G, et al. Radiation-induced meningioma. Neurosurg Focus 2008;24:E7.
- ↑ Evans JJ, Jeun SS, Lee JH, et al. Molecular alterations in the neurofibromatosis type 2 gene and its protein rarely occurring in meningothelial meningiomas. J Neurosurg 2001;94:111–117
- ↑ Jain D, Ebrahimi KB, Miller NR, Eberhart CG. Intraorbital meningiomas: a pathologic review using current World Health Organization criteria. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2010;134(5):766–770. doi:10.1043/1543-2165-134.5.766.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Saeed P, Rootman J, Nugent RA, White VA, Mackenzie IR, Koornneef L. Optic nerve sheath meningiomas. Ophthalmology. 2003;110(10):2019–2030. doi:10.1016/S0161-6420(03)00787-5.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Mariniello G, Bonavolontà G, Tranfa F, Maiuri F. Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery. Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery. 2013;115(9):1615–1620. doi:10.1016/j.clineuro.2013.02.012.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Heufelder MJ, Sterker I, Trantakis C, et al. Reconstructive and ophthalmologic outcomes following resection of spheno-orbital meningiomas. Ophthalmic Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery. 2009;25(3):223–226. doi:10.1097/IOP.0b013e3181a1f345.
- ↑ Leber KA, Bergloff J, Pendl G: Dose-response tolerance of the visual path- ways and cranial nerves of the cavernous sinus to stereotactic radiosurgery. J Neurosurg 88:43–50, 1998.
- ↑ Turbin RE, Thompson CR, Kennerdell JS, Cockerham KP, Kupersmith MJ. A long-term visual outcome comparison in patients with optic nerve sheath meningioma managed with observation, surgery, radiotherapy, or surgery and radiotherapy. Ophthalmology. 2002;109(5):890–9–discussion899–900.
- ↑ Peele KA, Kennerdell JS, Maroon JC, et al. The role of postoperative irradiation in the management of sphenoid wing meningiomas. A preliminary report. Ophthalmology 1996;103:1761e7.
- ↑ Oya S, Sade B, Lee JH. Sphenoorbital meningioma: surgical technique and outcome. Journal of Neurosurgery. 2011;114(5):1241–1249. doi:10.3171/2010.10.JNS101128.
- ↑ Saeed P, van Furth WR, Tanck M, et al. Natural history of spheno-orbital meningiomas. Acta Neurochir. 2011;153(2):395–402. doi:10.1007/s00701-010-0878-0.
- Margalit NS, Lesser JB, Moche J, Sen C. Meningiomas involving the optic nerve: technical aspects and outcomes for a series of 50 patients. Neurosurgery. 2003;53(3):523–32–discussion532–3. doi:10.1227/01.NEU.0000079506.75164.F4.
- Kim M-S, Park K, Kim JH, Kim Y-D, Lee J-I. Gamma knife radiosurgery for orbital tumors. Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery. 2008;110(10):1003–1007. doi:10.1016/j.clineuro.2008.06.008.
- Yokoyama T, Nishizawa S, Sugiyama K, et al. Primary intraorbital ectopic meningioma. Skull Base Surg. 1999;9(1):47–50.
