Author's response: Inconsistent results or inconsistent methods? A plea for standardisation of biomarker sampling in mesothelioma studies

Our plain-English summary of Author's response: Inconsistent results or inconsistent methods? A plea for standardisation of biomarker sampling in mesothelioma studies, by J. Creaney, B.W. Robinson (Thorax, 2015).

The study

• Authors: J. Creaney, B.W. Robinson
• Journal: Thorax
• Published: 2015;70(4):374-5
• Type of article: Letter, Comment
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This item is a published letter, not a new study. Jenette Creaney and Bruce W S Robinson replied to a letter from Dr Kevin G Blyth about their earlier evaluation of fibulin-3, a proposed marker for malignant pleural mesothelioma, whose results differed from those reported by Professor Pass. The authors wrote that their evaluation had considered body mass index and renal function, which were not significant determinants of fibulin-3's diagnostic use. They also wrote that it had reported and adjusted for the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio. They agreed that sample timing relative to talc pleurodesis should be reported. They had not routinely reported surgery, they said, because it is uncommon in their patients. They had aimed to test the earliest sample, and accepted that this could have been stated explicitly. They disagreed that inconsistent results are common in this field, citing over 40 published mesothelin studies from at least 10 independent centres. The authors attributed the differing fibulin-3 results to chance and the way science is reported. They called for multiple replications and for publication of all rigorously conducted studies.

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: correspondence (authors' reply to a letter about their earlier fibulin-3 study); no new data
• Who was studied: No new study population; the reply discusses the authors' earlier independent evaluation of fibulin-3 in malignant pleural mesothelioma
• Main results:
  • The authors stated that body mass index and renal function were considered in their fibulin-3 evaluation and were not significant determinants of its diagnostic use
  • The authors stated that the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio was reported and adjusted for in their analyses
  • The authors agreed that timing of samples relative to talc pleurodesis should be acknowledged in papers
  • The authors said they had not routinely reported surgical biopsy or resection because these are uncommon in their patients
  • The authors said they consider it important to test the earliest possible sample, before treatment
  • The authors disagreed that discordant results are common in mesothelioma biomarker studies, citing over 40 published mesothelin studies from at least 10 independent centres
  • The authors described mesothelin as suboptimal for screening for early detection of mesothelioma
  • The authors attributed the differing fibulin-3 results between their study and Professor Pass's to chance and the way science is reported (the 'Prometheus Effect')
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that any biomarker needs multiple replications in geographically and ethnically diverse populations, and that results from all rigorously conducted studies should be published
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors accepted that their earlier paper could have stated explicitly that the earliest, pre-treatment sample was tested

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: Biomarker, Mesothelioma.

Related studies

• Inconsistent results or inconsistent methods? A plea for standardisation of biomarker sampling in mesothelioma studies — K.G. Blyth (2015)
• Diagnostic and Prognostic Biomarkers in the Rational Assessment of Mesothelioma (DIAPHRAGM) study: protocol of a prospective, multicentre, observational study — S. Tsim, C. Kelly, et al. (2016)
• Comparison of fibulin-3 and mesothelin as markers in malignant mesothelioma — J. Creaney, I.M. Dick, et al. (2014)
• Comparison of the diagnostic accuracy of the MSLN gene products, mesothelin and megakaryocyte potentiating factor, as biomarkers for mesothelioma in pleural effusions and serum — J. Creaney, S. Sneddon, et al. (2013)
• Fibulin-3 as a blood and effusion biomarker for pleural mesothelioma — H.I. Pass, S.M. Levin, et al. (2012)
• FBLN-3 as a biomarker of pleural plaques in workers occupationally exposed to carcinogenic fibers: a pilot study — V. Rapisarda, C. Ledda, et al. (2015)

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