Clinicopathological evaluation of cyclooxygenase-2 expression in meningioma: immunohistochemical analysis of 76 cases of low and high-grade meningioma

• Published in: Brain tumor pathology 2014, Vol.31 (1), p.23-30
• Main Authors: Kato, Yasutaka, Nishihara, Hiroshi, Mohri, Hiromi, Kanno, Hiromi, Kobayashi, Hiroyuki, Kimura, Taichi, Tanino, Mishie, Terasaka, Shunsuke, Tanaka, Shinya
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal - therapeutic use; Brain cancer; Brain tumors; Cancer Research; Cancer therapies; Carcinogenesis - genetics; Chemotherapy; Chi-square test; Colorectal cancer; Cyclooxygenase 2 - genetics; Cyclooxygenase 2 - metabolism; Cyclooxygenase 2 - physiology; Female; Gene Expression; Histocytochemistry; Hospitals; Humans; Labeling; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Meningeal Neoplasms - drug therapy; Meningeal Neoplasms - enzymology; Meningeal Neoplasms - genetics; Meningeal Neoplasms - pathology; Meningioma - drug therapy; Meningioma - enzymology; Meningioma - genetics; Meningioma - pathology; Middle Aged; Molecular Targeted Therapy; Neoplasm Grading; Neoplasm Staging; Neurology; Neurosurgery; Oncology; Original Article; Pathology; Stains & staining; Surgery; Tumor Cells, Cultured; Tumors; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1433-7398; 1861-387X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10014-012-0127-8

Tumorigenic activity of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), a rate-limiting enzyme in the production of prostaglandins (PGs), has been proved for some types of cancer, including brain tumors. We evaluated expression of COX-2 in meningioma, one of the most common intracranial tumors in adults which accounts for 24–30 % of intracranial tumors. We performed immunostaining for COX-2 in 76 cases of meningioma consisting of 44 cases of low-grade (WHO Grade I) and 32 cases of high-grade (29 cases of Grade II and 3 cases of Grade III) meningioma, and evaluated COX-2 expression levels on the basis of staining intensity and proportion in tumor cells. The expression level of COX-2 in meningioma cells was significantly correlated with WHO grade ( P  = 0.0153). In addition, COX-2 expression was significantly correlated with MIB-1 labeling index for all 76 cases of meningioma ( P  = 0.0075), suggesting tumor promotion by COX-2 in meningioma progression. Our results may indicate the therapeutic value of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs against meningioma, especially for patients with elevated proliferation, to regulate the tumorigenic activity of COX-2 in meningioma cells.