In a examine from the College of Gothenburg, 2.7% of 70-year-old ladies had been discovered to have tumors of the meninges. The researchers emphasize that such findings needs to be handled with diligence and cautious consideration.
The researchers studied meningiomas, that are tumors that develop on the meninges outdoors the mind tissue itself. Of the 792 randomly chosen 70-year-olds included within the examine, 1.8% had been discovered to have a meningioma. Amongst ladies, the determine was 2.7%.
The examine was initiated by Erik Thurin, neuroscientist on the College of Gothenburg and radiologist at Sahlgrenska College Hospital.
“We generally detect meningiomas in older individuals as incidental findings on MRI scans when on the lookout for different issues. They’re usually benign, typically inflicting completely no issues and rising very slowly. Malignant variants are discovered however very not often,” he says.
Meningiomas are a kind of tumor that turns into more and more frequent as we age. They’re additionally significantly extra frequent amongst ladies, as confirmed by this examine now printed within the journal Acta Neurochirurgica.
“Meningiomas primarily have an effect on older ladies. Amongst ladies, there was a 2.7% danger of a tumor, which is 5 instances increased than for males,” says Thurin.
The examine was performed along with Professor Ingmar Skoog’s analysis crew and was primarily based on the intensive H70 inhabitants examine, with randomly chosen 70-year-olds invited to attend examinations, together with mind MRIs.
“We might seen indications from different nations of many undetected meningiomas amongst older individuals, and so we needed to analyze whether or not this was the case amongst Swedish 70-year-olds,” Thurin explains.
Most meningioma sufferers are fully cured if the tumor is surgically eliminated. Nonetheless, surgical procedure can usually be prevented so long as the tumor is just not rising too shortly. On this case, it’s enough to observe the tumor with common MRI scans to make sure that it isn’t rising. If it seems benign, no quick motion is critical.
“It is necessary to not overreact if the tumor is small. I’ve beforehand researched how meningioma sufferers fare after surgical procedure, and I’ve seen that in some circumstances surgical procedure can have unlucky penalties,” says Thurin.
“One pitfall is that if the tumor is discovered when investigating one other downside, resembling throughout an MRI scan to rule out extra critical causes following a physician’s appointment for dizziness. If a small tumor crops up as an incidental discovering, it might be mistakenly related to the unique downside, placing the affected person vulnerable to pointless surgical procedure. Naturally, there are additionally conditions the place surgical procedure is critical. Sufferers ought to at all times have a radical session with their physician.”
The examine raises necessary questions on how greatest to handle incidental findings within the mind amongst older individuals. Now, the researchers hope that the outcomes will contribute to a extra nuanced view of meningiomas.
“We have to strike a stability between diligence and pointless fear. It is a matter of caring for our older populations on the premise of each science and customary sense,” Thurin says.
Extra info:
Eddie de Dios et al, Prevalence and signs of incidental meningiomas: a population-based examine, Acta Neurochirurgica (2025). DOI: 10.1007/s00701-025-06506-7
Quotation:
Undetected mind tumors extra frequent in older ladies than beforehand recognized (2025, June 26)
retrieved 26 June 2025
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