Is galectin-3 antibody a useful marker in the diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma?

Our plain-English summary of Is galectin-3 antibody a useful marker in the diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma?, by M. Mlika, A. Ayadi-Kaddour, M. Ksantini, et al (Journal of Immunoassay & Immunochemistry, 2013).

The study

• Authors: M. Mlika, A. Ayadi-Kaddour, M. Ksantini, S. Bouraoui, S. Mzabi, F. El Mezni
• Journal: Journal of Immunoassay & Immunochemistry
• Published: 2013;34(2):111-25
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a challenging diagnosis characterized by the absence of real specific diagnostic markers. Positivity with the galectin-3 antibody was assessed by a cytoplasmic expression in 17 MPM. Fourteen cases expressed the galectin-3 antibody. The three negative cases consisted of epithelioid, biphasic, and sarcomatoid MPM. The 14 positive cases consisted of epithelioid MPM in 12 cases, sarcomatoid MPM in one case, and biphasic MPM in one case. In spite of our inability to prove the real diagnostic value of the galectin-3 antibody, our findings make us wonder about the implication of this antibody in the carcinogenesis of MPM.

In plain English

This study came from the pathology department of Abderrahman Mami Hospital in Ariana, Tunisia. It asked whether staining for a protein called galectin-3 might help pathologists diagnose malignant pleural mesothelioma. The authors selected 18 previously diagnosed cases (16 men and two women) collected between January 1995 and May 2011. They tested 17 of them, because in the remaining case there was not enough material. A case counted as positive when strong staining appeared in more than 20% of cells. Occupational asbestos exposure was noted in six patients. Galectin-3 staining was positive in 14 of the 17 cases tested: 12 epithelioid, one sarcomatoid and one biphasic mesothelioma. The three negative cases were one epithelioid, one biphasic and one sarcomatoid mesothelioma. The authors stated that this result does not prove galectin-3 is useful for diagnosis, because they did not compare its staining in mesothelioma with pulmonary adenocarcinoma. They concluded that, although they could not prove its diagnostic value, their findings raised the question of whether galectin-3 plays a part in how mesothelioma develops.

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 case series: immunohistochemical (tissue staining) study of archived, previously diagnosed mesothelioma cases
• Who was studied: 18 patients (16 men, 2 women) with previously diagnosed malignant pleural mesothelioma from the pathology files of Abderrahman Mami Hospital, Ariana, Tunisia, January 1995 to May 2011. Galectin-3 staining was assessed in 17 cases.
• Exposure: Asbestos exposure was not studied as a variable. Occupational asbestos exposure was recorded in six of the 18 patients, and no fiber type was given. The test studied was galectin-3 antibody staining (clone B2C10), counted as positive with strong staining in more than 20% of cells.
• Main results:
  • Of the 18 cases, microscopic examination found 14 epithelioid, 2 sarcomatoid and 2 biphasic mesotheliomas.
  • Galectin-3 staining was positive (cytoplasmic) in 14 of the 17 cases tested. The three negative cases were one epithelioid, one biphasic and one sarcomatoid mesothelioma.
  • The 14 positive cases were 12 epithelioid, 1 sarcomatoid and 1 biphasic mesothelioma.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that they could not prove the diagnostic value of galectin-3 antibody, but that their findings raised questions about a possible involvement of galectin-3 in the development (carcinogenesis) of malignant pleural mesothelioma.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The study did not compare galectin-3 staining in mesothelioma with pulmonary adenocarcinoma, so it cannot show diagnostic usefulness.
  • One of the 18 cases could not be tested because there was not enough material.

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Pleural Mesothelioma, Epithelioid, Biphasic Mesothelioma, Sarcomatoid, Carcinogenesis.

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