Diagnostic biomarker of asbestos-related mesothelioma: example of translational research

Our plain-English summary of Diagnostic biomarker of asbestos-related mesothelioma: example of translational research, by H. Okio, S. Kazu, M. Masahiro (Cancer Science, 2007).

The study

• Authors: H. Okio, S. Kazu, M. Masahiro
• Journal: Cancer Science
• Published: 2007;98(8):1147-51
• Type of article: Review
• Cited by: 14 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Mesothelioma is an aggressive tumor arising from the mesothelium, and is usually associated with previous exposure to asbestos. The incubation period of asbestos-related mesothelioma is estimated to be approximately 30-40 years. Once mesothelioma has occurred, there is no effective treatment. So, identification of tumor markers and a method for early diagnosis using such markers are urgently needed. Recently, several enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay systems for Erc/mesothelin have been developed, the reported usefulness of which has been assessed and demonstrated as a diagnostic tool. Asbestos-related mesothelioma should be ascribed as a typical environmental carcinogen. In this review, we will present asbestos-related mesothelioma for the study of problems in environmental carcinogenesis.

In plain English

This was a review article. The authors, in Japan, reviewed blood tests for mesothelioma, a tumor of body-cavity linings usually associated with asbestos exposure. They had found the Erc gene while studying genetic kidney cancer in rats, and described rat Erc as the counterpart of human mesothelin, the protein these tests measured. They summarized their own earlier study of a blood test (ELISA) for one fragment of the protein, N-Erc/mesothelin. The median level was 25.12 ng/mL in seven mesothelioma patients, compared with 1.4 ng/mL in 13 healthy volunteers, 1.31 ng/mL in four patients with lung cancer spread to the pleura, and 1.10 ng/mL in three patients with benign asbestos pleuritis. They also reviewed other groups' tests. One group reported raised levels of a marker called SMRP in 84% of 44 mesothelioma patients and 2% of 160 patients with other lung or pleural diseases. The authors concluded that N-Erc/mesothelin may be a promising tumor marker, and called for systematic, retrospective and prospective evaluation of the tests. They reported starting a large prospective study of building construction workers.

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: Review article on blood (serum) biomarkers for mesothelioma, including a summary of the authors' own earlier serum study
• Who was studied: Published studies of mesothelin-based blood tests. The authors' own earlier study tested serum from 7 mesothelioma patients, 4 patients with pleural metastasis from lung cancer, 3 patients with benign asbestos pleuritis and 13 healthy volunteers.
• Exposure: No asbestos exposure was measured. The article discussed asbestos in general as the usual cause of mesothelioma and focused on a blood marker (Erc/mesothelin) measured by ELISA.
• Main results:
  • The authors had found the Erc gene during research into genetic kidney cancer in rats. Rat Erc and human mesothelin were suggested to be functional orthologues, meaning counterparts in the two species.
  • In the authors' own earlier study, median serum N-Erc/mesothelin was 25.12 ng/mL (range 10.32 to 53.13) in 7 mesothelioma patients, 1.4 ng/mL (range 0.67 to 7.60) in 13 healthy controls, 1.31 ng/mL (range 0.68 to 4.33) in 4 pleural metastasis (lung cancer) patients, and 1.10 ng/mL (range 0.3 to 1.19) in 3 benign asbestos pleuritis patients.
  • All mesothelioma patients in the authors' study were of the epithelial type, confirmed immunohistochemically.
  • Reviewed study (Robinson et al.): elevated serum SMRP in 84% of 44 mesothelioma patients versus 2% of 160 patients with other lung or pleural diseases.
  • Reviewed study (Onda et al.): MPF (N-Erc/mesothelin) levels were elevated in 51 of 56 (91%) mesothelioma patients compared with healthy controls.
  • Reviewed study (Beyer et al.): SMRP was increased in 52% of malignant pleural mesothelioma patients and 5% of asbestos-exposed individuals.
  • Reviewed study (Hassan et al.): elevated serum mesothelin in 40 of 56 (71%) mesothelioma patients and 14 of 21 (67%) ovarian cancer patients.
  • The authors reported starting a large-scale prospective study of building construction workers using their ELISA.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that N-Erc/mesothelin may represent a promising tumor marker for mesothelioma.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors stated that the ELISA systems still need retrospective and prospective studies alongside tissue and imaging diagnosis.
  • The authors stated that the mechanism linking Erc/mesothelin and asbestos-related carcinogenesis has not been fully worked out.

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Biomarker, Mesothelioma, Mesothelium, Tumor Marker, Mesothelin, Carcinogenesis.

Related studies

• Blood tests for asbestos-related mesothelioma — M. Maeda, O. Hino (2006)
• Molecular tumor markers for asbestos-related mesothelioma: serum diagnostic markers — M. Maeda, O. Hino (2006)
• Diagnostic value of soluble mesothelin-related peptides for malignant mesothelioma: a meta-analysis — L. Luo, H.Z. Shi, et al. (2010)
• Soluble mesothelin related peptides (SMRP) and osteopontin as protein biomarkers for malignant mesothelioma: analytical validation of ELISA based assays and characterization at mRNA and protein levels — A.J. Rai, R.M. Flores, et al. (2010)
• Mesothelin-related predictive and prognostic factors in malignant mesothelioma: a nested case-control study — O.D. Roe, J. Creaney, et al. (2008)
• Diagnostic performance of soluble mesothelin and megakaryocyte potentiating factor in mesothelioma — K. Hollevoet, K. Nackaerts, et al. (2010)

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