title: Correlation of growth factor receptor expression with clinical growth in vestibular schwannomas.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the relationship between growth rate of vestibular schwannomas and the expression of various growth factor receptors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective case review of clinical growth rate in conjunction with a histopathologic and immunohistochemical reexamination of archival specimens.
  
  
  METHODS
  A tertiary referral neurotologic center.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three groups: a historical group to act as controls, consisting of 30 patients with sporadic vestibular schwannomas removed before the unit adopted an initial interval scan policy; a group of 14 patients with sporadic vestibular schwannomas who had undergone an initial interval scan policy, showed radiologic evidence of growth, and therefore had their schwannoma removed; and a group of 16 schwannomas removed from 11 neurofibromatosis Type 2 patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  A comparison between the three clinical groups using immunohistochemical studies to determine the level of expression of the proliferation factor Ki-67, c-erbB-2, and c-erbB-3 receptors and fibroblastic growth factor receptors 1 and 4.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The level of expression of the proliferation factor Ki-67 was very low and similar in all three groups. C-erbB-2 and c-erbB-3 receptors were not expressed in any of the groups. fibroblastic growth factor receptor 4 expression was not significantly different, but there was a variation in the expression of fibroblastic growth factor receptor 1 between the three groups that correlated well with the differing incidence of growth in the groups. The increase in expression of fibroblastic growth factor receptor 1 in the neurofibromatosis Type 2 group was not statistically significant, but the increase in expression of fibroblastic growth factor receptor 1 in the growing sporadic group was statistically significant when compared with the historical controls. The level of fibroblastic growth factor receptor 1 expression correlates significantly with the rate of growth as measured on interval magnetic resonance imaging.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overexpression of fibroblastic growth factor receptor 1 has a positive correlation with the incidence and the rate of growth of sporadic vestibular schwannomas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuro-Otology, Institute of Neurological Sciences, Southern General Hospital, Glasgow, Scotland. brian.o'reilly@northglasgow.scot.nhs.uk
authors.forename: Brian F
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: O'Reilly
authors.forename: Ameet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kishore
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Crowther
authors.forename: Colin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016518:Neurofibromatosis 2 / Q000150:complications; D009464:Neuroma, Acoustic / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020893:Receptor, ErbB-3 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051496:Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 1; D051499:Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 4; D017468:Receptors, Fibroblast Growth Factor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017978:Receptors, Growth Factor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D020893:Receptor, ErbB-3; D051496:Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 1; D051499:Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 4; D017468:Receptors, Fibroblast Growth Factor; D017978:Receptors, Growth Factor; C496348:FGFR1 protein, human; C496371:FGFR4 protein, human