Abstract
Meningiomas are common, usually benign tumors of the central nervous system that have a high rate of post-surgical recurrence or regrowth. We determined expression of the proteins merlin, NDRG2, ERBB2, and c-MYC in meningiomas using immunohistochemistry and assessed relationships between protein expression and gender, age, tumor grade, and recurrence or regrowth. The study sample comprised 60 patients, (44 women and 16 men) with a mean age of 53.2±12.7 years. Tumors were classified as grade I (n=48) or grades II and III (n=12). Expression of merlin, NDRG2, ERBB2, and c-MYC was not significantly different statistically with relation to gender, age, or meningioma recurrence or regrowth. Merlin was expressed in 100% of the cases. No statistically significant difference between tumor grade and recurrence or regrowth was identified. Statistically significant differences were identified between the mean age of patients with grade I (54.83±11.60) and grades II and III (46.58±15.08) meningiomas (P=0.043), between strong c-MYC expression and grades II and III (P<0.001), and between partial surgical resection and tumor recurrence or regrowth (P<0.001). These findings reveal the lower mean age among grades II and III meningioma patients than grade I patients, the influence of the protein merlin on tumorigenesis, the association of c-MYC with aggressive meningiomas, and that partial surgical resection is associated with tumor recurrence or regrowth.
Highlights
Meningiomas represent approximately 35% of primary central nervous system (CNS) tumors, with an incidence of 7.44 cases for every 100,000 inhabitants in the United States [1]
We have investigated the expression of merlin, NDRG2, ERBB2, and c-MYC in patient meningioma specimens using immunohistochemistry (IHC)
All samples were positive for merlin expression, with 40% classified as low-moderate and 60% as strong
Summary
Meningiomas represent approximately 35% of primary central nervous system (CNS) tumors, with an incidence of 7.44 cases for every 100,000 inhabitants in the United States [1]. Meningiomas can develop in patients at any age, they are more common among those in their 60s and 70s. Women are three times more likely to develop meningiomas than men [2]. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies meningiomas into three groups: benign (grade I), atypical (grade II), and anaplastic (grade III) [2]. Surgery is effective in treating most meningiomas. Some patients have inoperable, invasive, recurring, or malignant tumors; these often require alternative therapies to resection [3]
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