Cranial and Spinal Meningiomas: A 21-Year Single-Center Analysis of 108 Consecutive Patients in Türkiye.

BACKGROUND: Single-center series remain useful for benchmarking local practice against the published literature. We report a 21-year experience with cranial and spinal meningiomas at one tertiary center in Türkiye. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 108 consecutive patients operated for histopathologically confirmed cranial or spinal meningioma at Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University, Türkiye, from January 2002 to December 2023. Clinical, histopathological (2021 WHO classification), and surgical (Simpson grade) data were summarized descriptively; recurrence was explored by location and extent of resection using Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: The cohort comprised 76 women and 32 men (mean age 59 years); 86 tumors (80%) were WHO grade 1. Simpson grade I resection was achieved in 68 patients (63%) overall, but in only 4 of 32 skull-base tumors (13%) versus 60 of 72 non-skull-base tumors (83%). The postoperative course was favorable in 86 patients (80%); complications occurred in 14 (13%); in-hospital and 30-day mortality were 2.8% (3/108) and 0.9% (1/108). Over a median follow-up of 83 months in 75 patients, recurrence was documented in 9 (8.3%), more often in skull-base tumors (19% vs 4.2%; odds ratio 5.3, 95% CI 1.2-22.8; p=0.023), but not by extent of resection (odds ratio 2.9, 95% CI 0.5-15.9; p=0.23). CONCLUSIONS: In our hands, complete resection was achieved in most non-skull-base tumors but rarely at the skull base, and mortality was confined to patients presenting with a marked neurological deficit. The clustering of recurrence in skull-base tumors rests on nine events and incomplete follow-up, and describes our experience rather than a generalizable finding.