Role of fragile histidine triad protein expression in pathogenesis of malignant pleural mesothelioma

Our plain-English summary of Role of fragile histidine triad protein expression in pathogenesis of malignant pleural mesothelioma, by E. Tutar, H. Kiyici (Pathology, 2008).

The study

• Authors: E. Tutar, H. Kiyici
• Journal: Pathology
• Published: 2008;40(1):42-5
• Cited by: 4 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Aim: To investigate the relationship of fragile histidine triad (FHIT) and Ki-67 expression with clinicopathological variables of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM).

Methods: Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections of 30 asbestos induced MPM (epithelial and biphasic) patients were examined for FHIT and Ki-67 expression using immunohistochemical techniques and results were compared with clinicopathological variables.

Results: Immunohistochemical study results were as follows: 12 (40%) cases showed low FHIT expression and 18 (60%) showed high expression. There was no significant relationship between FHIT and age, gender or histological subtypes (p > 0.05). Ki-67 expression was 'low' in 13 (43.3%) cases and 'high' in 17 (56.7%) cases. No correlation could be demonstrated between Ki-67 expression and age, gender or histological subtypes (p > 0.05). No significant association was observed between FHIT and Ki-67 expression in MPM.

Conclusion: The results support the role of FHIT as a tumour suppressor gene in asbestos induced MPM. There is no significant correlation between FHIT and cell proliferation marker expressions in malignant pleural mesothelioma. Therefore, it can be concluded that loss of FHIT does not interfere with tumour proliferation. This can be accepted as evidence for an early role of FHIT loss in carcinogenesis; however, it needs to be strengthened by further studies.

In plain English

This study examined stored tumour tissue from 30 patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma who were consecutively diagnosed at Gaziantep University Medical Faculty Hospital in Turkey between 1999 and 2006. All patients had a history of asbestos exposure. The article does not name fiber types or say how exposure was assessed. There were 16 men and 14 women, with a mean age of 59.46 years. Twenty-three tumours were epithelioid and seven were biphasic. Using staining methods, the authors measured two proteins: FHIT, which has been proposed as a tumour suppressor, and Ki-67, a marker of cell proliferation. FHIT expression was low in 12 cases (40%) and high in 18 (60%). Ki-67 expression was low in 13 cases (43.3%) and high in 17 (56.7%). No statistically significant association was found between either marker and age, gender or histological subtype, or between FHIT and Ki-67 expression. The authors concluded that FHIT may play a role as a tumour suppressor in asbestos-induced mesothelioma, possibly in early phases of tumour development. They said this needs to be strengthened by further studies. Patient survival could not be evaluated.

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: Immunohistochemical (tissue staining) study of stored tumour tissue from consecutively diagnosed patients
• Who was studied: 30 patients with epithelial (epithelioid) or biphasic malignant pleural mesothelioma, consecutively diagnosed at Gaziantep University Medical Faculty Hospital, Turkey, from 1999 to 2006. There were 16 men and 14 women, with a mean age of 59.46 years (range 38 to 80). 23 tumours (76.7%) were epithelioid and 7 (23.3%) were biphasic.
• Exposure: All patients had a history of asbestos exposure. The article does not specify fiber types, sources, jobs or doses.
• Main results:
  • FHIT expression was low in 12 of the 30 tumours (40%) and high in 18 (60%).
  • Ki-67 expression was low in 13 of the 30 tumours (43.3%) and high in 17 (56.7%).
  • No statistically significant relationship was found between FHIT expression and age, gender or histological subtype.
  • No statistically significant correlation was found between Ki-67 expression and age, gender or histological subtype.
  • No statistically significant association was found between FHIT expression and Ki-67 expression in these tumours.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that FHIT may play a role as a tumour suppressor gene in asbestos-induced malignant pleural mesothelioma. Because FHIT was not related to Ki-67, they suggested that FHIT inactivation may act in the early phases of tumour development. They said this needs to be strengthened by further studies.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The survival of the patients could not be evaluated.
  • There is no agreed standard for grading FHIT staining. The authors used one published system and said different grading systems need to be compared.
  • The authors said their interpretation of an early role for FHIT loss needs to be strengthened by further studies. They noted that another group had suggested a late-phase role.

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, Ki-67, Biphasic Mesothelioma, Histological Subtype, Carcinogenesis.

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