Case Report: Pathological confirmation and aggressive postoperative recurrence of WHO grade III rhabdoid meningioma

Rhabdoid meningioma (RM), a rare WHO grade III meningioma subtype, features high invasiveness, poor prognosis, and no effective therapies, often being misdiagnosed with other intracranial tumors clinically, such as brain metastases and WHO grade II meningiomas. We report a 39-year-old female admitted for 6-month headaches. Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed a well-circumscribed, heterogeneously enhancing tumor with severe peritumoral edema in the right temporal lobe, initially suspected to be a WHO grade II meningioma; RM was confirmed postoperatively. The tumor recurred 1 month after the first surgery, and the patient died of intracranial hypertension 1 month after the reoperation. This case highlights the need for immediate adjuvant chemoradiotherapy postoperatively.