HORMONE RECEPTORS IN INITIALLY EXCISED VERSUS RECURRENT INTRACRANIAL MENINGIOMAS

Intracranial meningiomas from 51 surgical patients consecutively treat ed during an 18-month period were evaluated for the presence of recept ors to progesterone and estrogen. Thirty-eight patients underwent init ial resection during this time and 13 underwent reoperation for recurr ent disease. With positivity defined as receptor levels greater than 1 0 fmol/mg of cytosol protein, 84% of all the meningiomas were positive for progesterone receptors, whereas only 33% were positive for estrog en receptors. Among the recurrent meningiomas, 92% showed evidence of progesterone receptors and 54% of estrogen receptors; these figures we re not significantly different from the corresponding incidence of 82% and 26%, respectively, among the initially excised tumors. However, t he mean concentration of progesterone receptors in the recurrent tumor group was significantly higher when compared to the concentration in the initially excised group (p < 0.02). Twenty meningiomas (39%) were considered to be radiation-induced, since they were removed from patie nts who had received scalp irradiation during childhood. The incidence and concentration of receptors in the radiation-induced tumors were g enerally comparable to those in the spontaneous meningiomas. This stud y confirms previous reports of a high incidence of hormone receptors, mainly for progesterone, in meningiomas. In addition, it shows that in recurrent meningiomas these receptors persist and even increase. The results therefore support hormone treatment for nonresectable meningio mas, especially at recurrence.