non surgical options for large meningioma

[jc5632]

my 80 y.o mom was diagnosed in 2003 with large (golf ball size) meningioma and asymptomatic thus far but has fairly severe memory loss in the past year. just had annual mri and followup consultation with neurosurgeon this week to see if memory impairment was directly related to the tumor or possible early dementia/alzheimers. He is starting her on dexamethasone to answer that dilemma but is short term only. If her memory comes back and thereby can be attributed to the tumor, is there any long term non-surgical options for her? she does not want surgery at her age and the surgeon is also reluctant because of it. im concerned the edema will eventually begin to cause severe impairment (she has occasionally showed signs of mini TIA's of late) and loss of function. She lives alone but very close by.  At wit's end wondering what to do next????

[Dr. A. Srivastava]

Thank you for your question. Although without being able to examine her I can not offer you the specific advice on diagnosis and treatment that she needs, but I would try to provide you some relevant information about her health concern.

If meningioma is large enough it could cause sleep disturbances and seizures. Apart from surgery and radiation therapy, no other treatment is quite successful in meningioma. Usually, meningioma is small and asymptomatic, so it can be kept in observation for a period of time by the treating neurosurgeon. If no growth has been observed from months to years & you have no symptoms after a period of time, it could be left alone without any treatment. But if it is symptomatic or growing, complete surgical resection along with radiation therapy can be done after assessing the exact condition. Hope this information proves helpful to you. Take Care & Regards!!!

[rumpled]

She can have radiation. The gamma knife may be good at it is one visit and that should resolve the tumor slowly. I am not sure why they did not do that in the beginning instead of just watching it.

The dexamethasone itself may have a lot of side effects. Steroids can cause a lot of problems. Make sure you wean her off of that carefully.