Aim: Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2)-associated vestibular schwannomas have variable size at presentation which presents a unique challenge in NF2 patient management. Therefore, we investigated the molecular signature characteristic of the differences in size for improved individualized precise therapy.
Materials & methods: RNA expression analysis was performed on 15 small and 27 large NF2-associated vestibular schwannoma tumors using a microarray analyzing over 47,000 transcripts.
Results: A signature of 11 genes was found to be correlated with NF2 tumor size.
Conclusion: We have identified the genetic hallmark that differentiates large NF2-associated tumors from smaller tumors. This is the first time that these genes have been shown to be the hallmark for NF2 tumor size.
Keywords: brain cancer; neurofibromatosis; schwannomas; tumor growth; tumor signature.