Fibulin-3 immunoexpression in malignant mesothelioma due to fluoro-edenite: a preliminary report

Our plain-English summary of Fibulin-3 immunoexpression in malignant mesothelioma due to fluoro-edenite: a preliminary report, by R. Caltabiano, C. Loreto, E. Vitale, et al (Future Oncology, 2018).

The study

• Authors: R. Caltabiano, C. Loreto, E. Vitale, S. Matera, E. Miozzi, M. Migliore, G. Angelico, R. Tumino, C. Ledda, V. Rapisarda
• Journal: Future Oncology
• Published: 2018;14(6s):53-57
• Cited by: 9 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

An increased standardized incidence and mortality rate were reported due to malignant mesothelioma (MM) in Biancavilla. Environmental investigations showed the presence of an asbestiform fiber: fluoro-edenite (FE). MM develops with a latency of 20-60 years from exposure and specific and sensitive biomarkers are urgently needed. For this purpose, we evaluated Fibulin-3 (Fb-3) immunoexpression in human cases of MM related to FE exposure and its prognostic role. Immunohistochemical analysis of Fb-3 was carried out in eight MM patients resident in Biancavilla and the analysis showed evidence of environmental exposure to FE fibers. Six MM cases (3 epithelioid and 3 biphasic) showed a high immunoexpression of Fb-3 in neoplastic cells with nuclear and cytoplasmic localization. One epithelioid and one biphasic subtype did not show Fb-3 immunostaining. The results demonstrate the implication of Fb-3 in MM due to FE exposure and may possibly suggest its potential role as a diagnostic and prognostic marker.

In plain English

This preliminary report from Italy examined whether the protein fibulin-3 appears in tumor tissue from people with malignant mesothelioma linked to fluoro-edenite. Fluoro-edenite is an asbestos-like fiber found in lava rock from a quarry near Biancavilla, Sicily, and the stone was used locally for construction. The authors reviewed records of 49 Biancavilla residents with evidence of environmental exposure to fluoro-edenite who had surgery for mesothelioma between 1996 and 2014. Tissue and follow-up data were available for eight of them, four men and four women, and these samples were stained to detect fibulin-3. Four tumors were the epithelioid type and four were biphasic. Six of the eight (three epithelioid, three biphasic) showed widespread fibulin-3 staining in tumor cells. The staining was strong in four, moderate in one and weak in one. Two tumors (one epithelioid, one biphasic) showed no staining. The authors concluded that the results suggest fibulin-3 is involved in mesothelioma due to fluoro-edenite exposure, and that their preliminary findings support a role for fibulin-3 in tumor development.

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: Retrospective review of patient records, with laboratory staining (immunohistochemistry) of tumor tissue from a small case series; described by the authors as a preliminary report
• Who was studied: Of 49 patients from Biancavilla (Sicily, Italy) with evidence of environmental fluoro-edenite exposure who had surgery for malignant mesothelioma between 1996 and 2014, eight (4 males, 4 females) with available biopsy tissue and follow-up data
• Exposure: Environmental exposure to fluoro-edenite, an asbestiform fiber present in lava rock from a local quarry. The stone was used locally for about 50 years for house and road construction, and the quarry closed in 1998.
• Main results:
  • Of the eight tumors, four were classified as epithelioid and four as biphasic mesothelioma
  • Six of the eight tumors (3 epithelioid, 3 biphasic) showed diffuse fibulin-3 staining in tumor cells, in the nucleus and cytoplasm
  • Among the six positive tumors, staining was strong in four, moderate in one and weak in one (per Table 1)
  • Two tumors, one epithelioid and one biphasic, showed no fibulin-3 staining
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the results suggest fibulin-3 is involved in malignant mesothelioma due to fluoro-edenite exposure. They described these preliminary findings as supporting a role for fibulin-3 in mesothelioma tumor development and as confirming a relationship between fibulin-3 expression and fluoro-edenite exposure.

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: Fibulin-3, Malignant Mesothelioma, fluoro-edenite, Biancavilla, Asbestiform, Latency, Biomarker, Environmental Exposure.

Related studies

• Immunohistochemical Expression of Aquaporin-1 in Fluoro-Edenite-Induced Malignant Mesothelioma: A Preliminary Report — G. Angelico, R. Caltabiano, et al. (2018)
• Immunohistochemical Expression of Serine and Arginine-Rich Splicing Factor 1 (SRSF1) in Fluoro-Edenite-Induced Malignant Mesothelioma: A Preliminary Study — G. Broggi, G. Angelico, et al. (2021)
• Occupational exposure to fluoro-edenite and prevalence of anti-nuclear autoantibodies — V. Rapisarda, C. Loreto, et al. (2018)
• Fibulin-3 as biomarker of malignant mesothelioma — C. Ledda, R. Caltabiano, et al. (2019)
• Pleural mesothelioma from fluoro-edenite exposure: PACAP and PAC1 receptor. A preliminary report — C. Lombardo, G. Maugeri, et al. (2024)
• Early effects of fluoro-edenite: correlation between IL-18 serum levels and pleural and parenchymal abnormalities — C. Ledda, C. Loreto, et al. (2016)

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