Sex hormone receptors in intracranial tumours and normal brain

Fifty-four intracranial neoplasms (29 meningiomas, 16 gliomas, seven acoustic neuromas and two cerebral metastases) and nine specimens of normal brain were evaluated for specific progesterone and oestrogen receptor proteins using a dextran-coated charcoal assay and Scatchard plot analysis. Sixteen meningiomas (55%) were progesterone receptor (PgR) positive (median 52; mean 120; range 10-486 fmol mg-1 cytosol protein), whilst all were oestrogen receptor negative (ER-). Two (28%) of the acoustic neuromas contained small amounts of PgR protein, but all seven were ER-. None of the gliomas, cerebral metastases or specimens of normal brain contained ER or PgR protein. Analysis of PgR status and clinicopathological data suggest that there is no predictive correlation between PgR status and the patients age, sex, reproductive status, tumour histology or tumour behaviour. These results again suggest that in meningiomas PgR proteins are not modulated by oestrogens acting through ER. This finding may explain the failure of antioestrogen therapy to influence the growth of meningiomas. The significance of PgR protein in intracranial meningiomas is discussed with respect to tumour heterogeneity and implications for research with gene probes.