What Is the Average Growth of a Meningioma?

Individual tumors vary significantly in the rate at which they produce more cancer cells and grow. The tumor's rate of growth helps physicians determine the aggressiveness of the cancer and the best course of treatment. Meningiomas represent a type of slow growing tumor.

Definition

• Meningiomas are tumors that develop from the membrane surrounding the brain, called the meninges. According to Brigham and Women's Hospital, although 90 percent of meningiomas are benign, they remain a threat because they constrict the brain as they grow.

Average Growth

• A research study published in the Journal of Neurosurgery followed 45 patients with asymptomatic meningiomas over a period of time. At an average time of 29 months, 35 patients showed no sign of tumor growth. Ten patients exhibited tumor growth that ranged from 0.2 centimeters over 180 months to one centimeter over 12 months. The average tumor growth among the ten patients was 0.24 centimeters per year.

Growth and Treatment

• Some physicians prefer to simply monitor asymptomatic, non-growing menigiomas. Others feel that location and nature of the tumor, rather than growth alone, should dictate the treatment protocol. Symptomatic meningiomas, whether growing or not, require treatment.