Amplification of MET in a Patient with Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma

Our plain-English summary of Amplification of MET in a Patient with Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma, by S. Varesano, S. Salvi, S. Boccardo, et al (Journal of Thoracic Oncology, 2015).

The study

• Authors: S. Varesano, S. Salvi, S. Boccardo, J.L. Ravetti, P. Ferro, P.A. Canessa, F. Fedeli, M.P. Pistillo, S. Roncella
• Journal: Journal of Thoracic Oncology
• Published: 2015;10(10):e103-4
• Type of article: Case report, Letter
• Cited by: 3 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This case report, published as a letter to the editor, described one patient with malignant pleural mesothelioma. The patient was a 70-year-old nonsmoking Caucasian man who had been exposed to asbestos for a long period of time. The letter did not give the fiber type or job. A pleural biopsy examined in March 2010 showed epithelioid malignant pleural mesothelioma. He received six cycles of cisplatin plus pemetrexed and died in November 2010. In a retrospective analysis, the authors tested the biopsy for the MET gene, which makes a receptor involved in cell growth signals. The tumor showed MET amplification, meaning extra copies of the gene (about eight MET signals in more than 70% of cells; MET/CEP7 ratio 4.0). It also showed overexpression of the MET protein, with membrane staining varying from low to moderate. The authors concluded that, to their knowledge, this was the first report showing the MET gene may be amplified in this cancer. They said further studies are needed to learn how often MET changes occur in it and whether they matter for treatment.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: case report (letter to the editor) with retrospective laboratory analysis of one patient's biopsy
• Who was studied: one 70-year-old nonsmoking Caucasian man whose pleural biopsy was analyzed for diagnosis in March 2010 (authors based in Genova and La Spezia/Sarzana, Italy)
• Exposure: asbestos exposure for a long period of time; fiber type, job and dose not stated
• Main results:
  • The biopsy was diagnosed as epithelioid malignant pleural mesothelioma
  • The patient was treated with six cycles of cisplatin plus pemetrexed and died in November 2010
  • The patient's tumor showed MET gene amplification: approximately eight MET signals on more than 70% of cells, MET/CEP7 ratio 4.0
  • The amplification was associated with MET protein overexpression, with membrane staining varying from low to moderate
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that, to their knowledge, this was the first report showing that the MET gene may be amplified in malignant pleural mesothelioma
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors stated that further studies are needed to determine how often MET aberrations occur in malignant pleural mesothelioma and whether they are relevant for biological treatments

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Lung cancer, Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Pleural Mesothelioma.

Related studies

• EGFR Status in Mesothelioma: Possible Implications for the Efficacy of Anti-EGFR and Anti-MET Therapies — S. Salvi, S. Varesano, et al. (2016)
• Targeted inhibition of multiple receptor tyrosine kinases in mesothelioma — W.B. Ou, C. Hubert, et al. (2011)
• Coactivation of receptor tyrosine kinases in malignant mesothelioma as a rationale for combination targeted therapy — M. Brevet, S. Shimizu, et al. (2011)
• Perifosine as a potential novel anti-cancer agent inhibits EGFR/MET-AKT axis in malignant pleural mesothelioma — G. Pinton, A.G. Manente, et al. (2012)
• PI3 Kinase Pathway and MET Inhibition is Efficacious in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma — R. Kanteti, J.J. Riehm, et al. (2016)
• The role of the HGF/Met axis in mesothelioma — T. Thayaparan, J.F. Spicer, et al. (2016)

Browse more research in Journal of Thoracic Oncology, or return to medical research.