MGMT promoter methylation status in anaplastic meningiomas

Excerpt

Anaplastic meningioma [World Health Organization (WHO) grade III] is characterized by aggressive biological behavior and recurrent tumor growth [1]. Radiation therapy is commonly employed after both total and subtotal resection, but effective chemotherapeutic regimens are lacking [2]. Hypermethylation of the O ⁶-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter is an important prognostic marker and also predicts response to therapy with alkylating agents (e.g., temozolomide) in patients with malignant gliomas [3]. While in benign meningiomas (WHO grade I) MGMT promoter methylation is rare or absent [4, 5] and temozolomide lacked efficiency in a small series of grade I meningiomas refractory to treatment [6], in anaplastic meningiomas, i.e., those neoplasms most likely to be considered for adjuvant treatment, MGMT methylation status has only been assessed in one and three cases, respectively [4, 5] and the role of temozolomide remains unclear. We thus aimed to examine MGMT methylation status in a large series of anaplastic meningiomas. …