Hormone receptors in vestibular schwannomas.

The possibility that steroid hormones play a role in vestibular schwannoma proliferation has been suggested by a number of investigators. There is conflicting information about the presence of steroid hormone receptors in these tumors. The aim of this study was to examine the expression of androgen, progesterone, glucocorticoid and estrogen receptor messenger ribonucleic acid levels (mRNA) in twenty-one vestibular schwannomas by either Northern blot analysis or the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Glucocorticoid receptor mRNA was expressed in all twenty-one tumors examined. Only two male specimens were positive for androgen receptor mRNA expression by PCR-Southern blot analysis. Thirty-three percent of the schwannomas (7/21) showed a strong band for progesterone receptor mRNA by PCR-Southern blot analysis; there were an equal number of males and females in this group. Estrogen receptor mRNA levels were undetectable in all tumors examined by PCR-Southern blot analysis. These studies suggest that the pattern of steroid receptor expression is different in schwannomas than in meningiomas. Individual vestibular schwannomas need to be examined for their steroid receptor mRNA expression mRNA expression to know whether they will be responsive.