Scoring radiologic characteristics to predict proliferative potential in meningiomas

We investigated the feasibility of using radiologic characteristics to predict the proliferative potential in meningiomas. Our statistical analysis revealed that the presence of peritumoral edema, an ambiguous brain-tumor border, and irregular tumor shape were significantly correlated with a higher MIB-1 staining index (SI) value. We developed the following scoring system for specific features in each tumor: peritumoral edema (tumor with edema = 1, tumor without edema = 0); brain-tumor border (tumor with any ambiguous border = 1, tumor circumscribed by a distinct rim = 0); and tumor shape (tumor with irregular shape = 1, tumor with smooth shape = 0). Using Spearman's correlation coefficient analysis, we found a significant correlation (P < 0.005) between total score calculated for each patient and SI value. Our findings suggest that the proliferative potential of meningiomas can be predicted using a less invasive preoperative examination focusing on the presence of peritumoral edema, ambiguous brain-tumor border, and irregular tumor shape.