Expression of Hepatocyte Growth Factor/c-met by RT-PCR in Meningiomas

Meningiomas are classified as benign, atypical or anaplastic. Most of them belong histologically to the World Health Organization (WHO) grade I. However, their clinical outcomes vary for recurrence; 25% of meningiomas show local recurrences. A few factors can be used as predictors for relapse: the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) concentration, cellular atypia and markers of cell proliferation. Neither the histopathologic nor the clinical data of meningiomas are currently accepted as reliable recurrence predictors because of their low accuracy. Molecular studies on the recurrence of meningioma have been described in the literature. The expression of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) (scatter factor [SF]) or c-met in meningiomas has recently received attention. HGF was originally identified as a growth factor for hepatocytes, and HGF dissociates epithelial cells and increases their motility. c-met tyrosine kinase participates in cancer invasion, angiogenesis and metastasis in a wide variety of neoplastic cells; the expression of HGF/c-met has been detected in breast carcinomas, lung carcinomas and prostatic carcinomas, as well as hepatocellular carcinomas. However, little is known about its expression and function in primary tumors of the central nervous system. Here, we investigated the expression of HGF and c-met in meningiomas that were with or without recurrence by performing reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).