Diagnostic tumor marker of asbestos-related mesothelioma

Our plain-English summary of Diagnostic tumor marker of asbestos-related mesothelioma, by O. Hino, M. Maeda (Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine, 2008).

The study

• Authors: O. Hino, M. Maeda
• Journal: Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine
• Published: 2008;13(2):71-4
• Cited by: 8 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 the tumor may be described as 30-40 years, and the prognosis is dismal. We previously discovered the Erc (Expressed in renal carcinoma) gene in the Eker rat model (Tsc2 gene mutant) and it was a homolog of the human mesothelin/MPF gene. We developed a novel ELISA system (N-ERC/mesothelin). Recently, we found that N-ERC/mesothelin was a potentially useful diagnostic marker for asbestos-related mesothelioma.

In plain English

This article was a short review by two authors of blood tests for mesothelioma, a tumor of the lining of body cavities that the authors described as usually associated with previous asbestos exposure. It described their earlier work on the Erc gene, found in a rat model of inherited kidney cancer, which they concluded was the rat counterpart of the human mesothelin gene. It also described their blood test (an ELISA) for a protein fragment they called N-ERC/mesothelin. In their earlier work, serum was tested from seven mesothelioma patients, four patients with carcinomatous pleuritis (pleural metastasis from lung cancer), three with benign asbestos pleuritis and 13 healthy volunteers. The authors reported much higher levels in the mesothelioma patients. The article also summarized other research groups' blood tests for related mesothelin fragments. The authors concluded that N-ERC/mesothelin was a potentially useful diagnostic marker for asbestos-related mesothelioma. They said the various tests still had to be evaluated in parallel or systematic studies, and 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: Narrative review of ELISA blood tests for ERC/mesothelin, summarizing the authors' own earlier laboratory and serum work (cited as their previous publications) and other groups' published studies
• Who was studied: In the authors' earlier serum study described here: 7 patients with mesothelioma (diagnosis confirmed immunohistochemically, all epithelial type), 4 patients with carcinomatous pleuritis pleural metastasis (lung cancer), 3 with benign asbestos pleuritis, and 13 healthy volunteers. Place and dates not stated.
• Exposure: Asbestos in general, as the usual cause of mesothelioma. No fiber types, products or doses are named. The article concerns a blood marker, not exposure measurement.
• Main results:
  • The authors concluded that the rat Erc gene product and human mesothelin are functional counterparts (orthologs).
  • In the authors' serum study, their ELISA detected much higher serum N-ERC/mesothelin levels in mesothelioma patients than in healthy controls or patients with other lung or pleural diseases. No numerical levels are given in the text.
  • Among other groups' studies reviewed (not this article's own data): Onda et al. reported MPF (N-ERC/mesothelin) levels elevated in 91% of mesothelioma patients (51 of 56) compared with healthy controls.
  • The authors reported having started a large-scale prospective study, using their ELISA, of building construction workers at risk of asbestos exposure.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that N-ERC/mesothelin was a potentially useful diagnostic marker for asbestos-related mesothelioma.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors stated that the several ELISA systems developed for ERC/mesothelin still must be evaluated in parallel or systematic studies.

Topics

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

Related studies

• Molecular tumor markers for asbestos-related mesothelioma: serum diagnostic markers — M. Maeda, O. Hino (2006)
• Evaluation of soluble mesothelin-related peptide as a diagnostic marker of malignant pleural mesothelioma effusions: its contribution to cytology — P.A. Canessa, M.C. Franceschini, et al. (2013)
• Soluble mesothelin-related peptides (SMRP) - high stability of a potential tumor marker for mesothelioma — D.G. Weber, D. Taeger, et al. (2007)
• Sensitive and specific new enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for N-ERC/mesothelin increases its potential as a useful serum tumor marker for mesothelioma — K. Shiomi, Y. Hagiwara, et al. (2008)
• Keratins 7 and 20 as diagnostic markers of carcinomas metastatic to the ovary — C.C. Wauters, F. Smedts, et al. (1995)
• Pre-diagnostic serum levels of inflammation markers and risk of ovarian cancer in the prostate, lung, colorectal and ovarian cancer (PLCO) screening trial — B. Trabert, L. Pinto, et al. (2014)

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