Sex hormones and meningiomas risk: a Mendelian randomization and immunohistochemical analysis

Abstract Background The sex hormones may induce the progression of meningioma during pregnancy. To further explore the causal relationship between sex hormones and the risk of meningioma, we employed Mendelian randomization (MR) and immunohistochemistry for causal inference analysis. Methods We obtained GWAS data relevant to meningioma from FinnGen, which included 314,708 participants. We found substantial evidence suggesting a potential causal relationship between PRLR, IGF, LH and the risk of meningioma using MR method. Results We included 16 cases of meningioma, of which 4 were associated with pregnancy. The average age of meningioma patients with pregnancy was significantly younger at 32.50 ± 1.29 years compared to those without pregnancy (60.58 ± 14.91 years; p = 0.002). Additionally, the proportion of grade II cases among those with pregnancy was found to be significantly higher at 100% compared to only 16.7% in those without pregnancy. The H-score of PRLR, IGF and LH in pregnancy group was significantly higher than that in without pregnancy group (< 0.001). While, there was no significant difference of H-score between two groups in other sex hormones. Conclusion The mendelian randomization analysis and immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that PRLR, IGF and LH played an important role in the progression of meningioma. The targeted drug for PRLR, IGF and LH may become novel therapeutic methods for meningioma in the future.