http://www.nlm.nih.gov/databases/alerts/lung.html
Women with Rare Lung_disease Found to Also Have High Prevalence of Meningiomas, First Study to Document Tumor Connection;
Women with Rare Lung_disease Found to Also Have High Prevalence of Meningiomas, First Study to Document Tumor Connection;
and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National_institutes_of_health (NIH) report that women with a rare lung_disease known_as LAM (lymphangioleiomyomatosis) have a_high prevalence of meningiomas, a type
. The study, published in the October 17 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, is the first to document the extent of the association between LAM and meningiomas."
The meningiomas were_detected in an ongoing study of the natural_history of LAM.
Unexpectedly, MRI scans revealed that 8 patients had meningiomas a rate that far exceeds the 1 in 20,000 expected in the general population.
whether the meningiomas are_caused by LAM itself, hormonal treatments for the disease or a combination of the two.
and other tissues of LAM patients produce certain growth factors that are_believed to foster meningiomas.
However, the possibility that the meningiomas have a hormonal cause has implications for the overall treatment of LAM.
However, studies have found that progesterone can stimulate growth of meningiomas.
Anti-progestins (drugs that interfere with this hormone's action) have even been_used to treat meningiomas."
"We cannot rule_out the possibility that the high prevalence of meningiomas may_be a result of both LAM
. Moss and colleagues recommend using MRI to screen for meningiomas in LAM patients
they advise against the use of progesterone. The scientists also suggest that patients with meningiomas have yearly MRI scans to evaluate tumor growth. Surgery is_preferred the treatment for these tumors which are slow-growing and rarely spread