Meningiomas in childhood and adolescence: a report of 13 cases and review of the literature.

Meningiomas are relatively uncommon in childhood. They represent 1 to 2% of all intracranial tumours of infancy and childhood. During the last 30-year period, from 1964 to 1993, 13 children with a diagnosis of meningioma were operated on at the Department of Neurosurgery, Hacettepe University School of Medicine. The meningiomas in the paediatric age group were characterized by multiplicity (23%), frequent association with neurofibromatosis (23%), intraventricular location (8%), and the presence of a cystic component in the tumour tissue (23%). These findings in children differ from those in adults. This study constitutes a retrospective analysis of these cases and a review of the literature.