However, studies have found that progesterone can stimulate growth of meningiomas. Anti-progestins (drugs that interfere with this hormones 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 and progesterone therapy," said Joel Moss, M.D., chief of NHLBIs Pulmonary-Critical Care Medicine Branch and lead investigator of the study, which was conducted at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD. Moss noted that although some of the women in the study had never been exposed to progesterone, low doses in contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy could have played a role in initiating the tumor or fueling its growth.
Moss and colleagues recommend using MRI to screen for meningiomas in LAM patients and if the tumors are found, 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 the preferred treatment for these tumors which are slow-growing and rarely spread to other parts of the body.
An estimated 8,000 U.S. women have LAM, which is characterized by an unusual type of muscle cell that invades and obstructs the tissue of the lungs, including the airways, and blood and lymph vessels. Over time, these muscle cells interfere with the lungs ability to supply oxygen to the rest of the body. The progression of the disease varies among patients as does survival, which may extend more than 20 years after diagnosis.
According to Moss, patients with LAM are often misdiagnosed, partly because many of the early symptoms are similar to other lung diseases. "A common symptom of LAM is shortness of breath, which is seen in other lung diseases such as asthma and emphysema. Other symptoms of LAM include chest pain and coughing up blood-stained sputum or blood," he said.
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Contact: NHLBI Communications Office
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NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
18-Oct-2001