Erythropoietin synthesis by tumor cells in a case of meningioma associated
with erythrocytosis
P Bruneval, C Sassy, P Mayeux, MF Belair, N Casadevall, FX Roux, B Varet and C Lacombe
INSERM U28, Hopital Broussais, Paris, France.
While secondary erythrocytosis is often associated with tumors arising from
the kidney, other tumors have been described to originate in the liver,
uterus, ovary, adrenal gland, and central nervous system, among which
cerebellar hemangioblastomas are involved in most instances. Two cases of
meningioma associated with erythrocytosis have already been reported. We
observed a 59-year-old female patient who had developed a frontal
meningioma associated with erythrocytosis. Before surgery, she had a
significantly elevated total red blood cell volume with a normal plasma
volume. Serum erythropoietin (Epo) dosage assessed by radioimmunoassay was
within the normal range. The tumor was removed and the pathologic study
found a meningotheliomatous meningioma. Total RNA from the tumor was
hybridized to a monkey cDNA Epo probe. A strong 1.6- kb messenger RNA
(mRNA) signal was observed, which is the expected size of human Epo mRNA.
In situ hybridization with the 35S-labeled Epo probe was performed on
frozen tumor tissue sections. A significant hybridization was observed in
all the tumor cells, whereas the stroma was negative. Therefore, in this
meningioma associated with erythrocytosis, Epo was produced by the tumor
cells themselves.
Volume 81,
Issue 6,
pp. 1593-1597,
03/15/1993
Copyright © 1993 by The American Society of Hematology
