PRIMARY MENINGIOMA INTIMATELY RELATED TO SKULL - CASE-REPORT AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

A report is made of a primary meningioma intimately associated with th e left sphenoid ridge and temporal bone of a 41-year-old woman. The le sion produced hyperostosis of the involved bones, ipsilateral proptosi s, and reduced vision for 4.5 years. The radiotherapy yielded little i mprovement of the exophthalmos and vision. Review of 125 reported meni ngiomas intimately related to the skull and presenting primarily with hyperostosis and minimal soft tissue component, including the current case, disclosed that all but one affected the cranium proper, particul arly the middle ear, temporal bone, frontal bone, and parietal bone. T he exceptional one was in the mandible. They tended to occur between t he fifth and seventh decades of life with the peak occurrence between the fifth and sixth decades. The average age was 46 years for overall. The female-to-male ratio was 2:1. Six of 125 primary meningiomas clos ely associated with the skull were malignant and two of these spread t o the lungs. The pulmonary metastasis was spontaneous in one case.