Secondary Malignancies in Patients with Meningioma: A Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Data Analysis

BACKGROUND: The risk of secondary primary malignancies (SPMs) in meningioma patients is not well understood. In this unidirectional analysis, we evaluated the risk of SPMs occurring following a primary diagnosis of meningioma. METHODS: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER-17) database (2000-2020) was used to identify 124,769 meningioma patients from a total of 9,208,295 cancer cases. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were calculated using SEER's statistical analysis package to evaluate SPM risk. Basic demographic and treatment information was collected as well. RESULTS: Of the 124,769 patients, 11,411 (9.2%) received diagnoses of an SPM, which correlates to a higher risk than the general population (SIR, 1.17; 99% confidence interval [CI], 1.15-1.19). Patients with meningiomas had an increased risk of the following cancers: cutaneous melanoma (SIR, 1.40; 99% CI, 1.26-1.56), kidney and renal pelvis (SIR, 1.66; 99% CI, 1.47-1.86), brain and other nervous system (SIR, 3.45; 99% CI, 2.99-3.97), thyroid (SIR, 2.48; 99% CI, 2.19-2.80), and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (SIR, 1.29; 99% CI, 1.15-1.44). Females were more predisposed to cancers of the lung (SIR, 1.19; 99% CI, 1.12-1.26), digestive system (SIR, 1.06; 99% CI, 1.01-1.12), and breast (SIR, 1.09; 99% CI, 1.04-1.14). Older patients demonstrated an increased risk of SPM development, with the 65-85-year-old group having an odds ratio of 9.06 (P = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: SEER data confirm an increased risk of SPMs following meningioma diagnosis. Further research may uncover shared genetic factors between meningioma and these SPMs, and increased awareness of SPM risk could inform future screening strategies.