[Sex hormone receptor in meningioma].

Meningiomas have often been described as being hormone dependent because of their preponderant incidence in females with clinical manifestation during or after pregnancy. The authors have experienced three cases of meningioma which became symptomatic during pregnancy, after delivery, or during menses. Estrogen receptor protein and progesterone receptor protein of the meningioma tissue were examined in 11 cases (8 females and 3 males) including these three cases to confirm the relation between sex hormones and neoplastic proliferation. Progesterone receptor protein was found in six female cases and estrogen receptor protein was obtained from one male case. Meningioma cells of the female patients showed no estrogen receptor protein unlike previously reported. There was no case where the meningioma cells held both progesterone and estrogen receptor proteins. To explain the rapid growth of a meningioma after delivery, it was presumed that the sudden change in serum sex hormone concentration after delivery would cause a feed-back mechanism of the meningioma sex hormone receptor with subsequent cellular proliferation.