[Secondary polycythemia with hypererythropoietinemia. Supratentorial meningioma]

A meningioma was discovered in a 66 year old man with non-progressive alcoholic cirrhosis and abstinence for the 5 previous years. The development of polycythemia ten months later was related to an inappropriate secretion of erythropoietin. Conventional causes for this phenomenon could not be found. Erythropoietin assays in erythroblast cultures from both the patient's blood and post-mortem, from tumor fragments demonstrated a significant elevation of erythropoietic activity. The diagnosis of polycythemia secondary to meningioma is suggested. Only one similar case has apparently been reported.