The oncofetal protein IMP3: A novel molecular marker to predict aggressive meningioma

Context.—One of the major clinical challenges is to predict recurrence of meningioma. Recently, we have found that IMP3, an oncofetal RNA-binding protein, is a biomarker to predict aggressive tumors. Objective.—To investigate whether IMP3 can be used as a new biomarker to predict the recurrence and overall survival of patients with meningiomas. Design.—One hundred seven patients with primary meningiomas were investigated for expression of IMP3 by immunohistochemistry and whether expression of this molecule correlated with tumor recurrence and overall survival. Results.—Tumor recurrence was found in 13 of 107 patients with primary meningioma. Seven of 107 patients (6.5%) with primary meningiomas expressed IMP3. Kaplan-Meier plots and log-rank tests showed that patients with IMP3-positive tumors had a much higher recurrence rate (P  =  .004) and a poorer overall survival (P < .001) than did patients with IMP3-negative tumors. The 5-year recurrence-free and overall survival rates were 0% and 36% in IMP3-posi...