Serum levels of pantropic p53 protein and EGF-receptor, and detection of anti-p53 antibodies in former uranium miners (SDAG Wismut)

Our plain-English summary of Serum levels of pantropic p53 protein and EGF-receptor, and detection of anti-p53 antibodies in former uranium miners (SDAG Wismut), by J. Schneider, P. Presek, A. Braun, et al (American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 1999).

The study

• Authors: J. Schneider, P. Presek, A. Braun, H.J. Woitowitz
• Journal: American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Published: 1999;36(6):602-9
• Cited by: 15 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Background: The oncogene product EGF-receptor (EGF-R), the tumor suppressor gene product p53, and anti-p53 antibodies are detectable in serum of certain cancer patients. Increased levels of some of these products were reported in lung cancer patients after occupational asbestos exposure, after exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or vinyl chloride. This molecular epidemiological study investigated the use of serum EGF-R, p53-protein, and anti-p53 antibodies as biomarkers for detection of effects of radon and its decay products.

Methods: Serum EGF-R, p53-protein, and anti-53 antibodies were measured using ELISA in former uranium miners of SDAG Wismut without lung disease (n=106) and miners with Schneeberg lung cancer (n=22). They were compared with healthy subjects (n=23), patients with lung cancer not due to ionizing radiation (n=88), and patients with non-malignant lung or pleural diseases (n=50).

Results: No significantly elevated or decreased serum values for p53 protein, EGF-R, or anti-p53 antibodies could be found. There was no correlation of these with Working Level Months (WLM).

Conclusions: p53 protein, EGF-R, or anti-p53 antibodies in serum are not useful as biomarkers for detection of lung cancer related to ionizing radiation (i.e., Schneeberg lung cancer).

Copyright 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

In plain English

This study tested whether three blood markers (p53 protein, the EGF receptor, and anti-p53 antibodies) could detect radon-related lung cancer in former uranium miners of the East German company SDAG Wismut. The authors measured serum from 106 former miners without lung disease and 21 miners with lung cancer related to ionizing radiation. They compared them with 23 healthy people, 88 patients with lung cancer not due to ionizing radiation, and 50 patients with non-malignant lung or pleural diseases. For the 106 miners without lung disease, mean cumulative exposure was 612 Working Level Months, ranging from 0.7 to 1954. No significant group differences were found for any marker. In the 106 miners, neither p53 nor EGF receptor levels correlated with exposure. Anti-p53 antibodies were found in 43 people, including 19 of the 88 tumor patients (22%) and 3 healthy subjects. One of the two highest EGF receptor values (138 fmol/mL) was in a patient with asbestos-caused lung cancer. The authors concluded that screening with these markers for radon effects or Schneeberg lung cancer cannot be recommended for now. They added that the predictive value of the antibodies awaits long-term follow-up.

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: molecular epidemiological comparison of serum biomarkers between groups, measured by ELISA, as part of a multi-center project
• Who was studied: 106 former SDAG Wismut uranium miners without lung disease (mean age 66.6; 15% current, 80% ever smokers) and 21 former miners with lung cancer related to ionizing radiation, compared with 23 healthy subjects, 88 patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer not due to ionizing radiation, and 50 patients with non-malignant lung or pleural diseases (26 with acute inflammatory lung or pleural infection, 24 with interstitial lung fibrosis); 288 serum samples in total
• Exposure: ionizing radiation from radon and its decay products in uranium mining and processing; miners began work between 1946 and 1978; for the 106 miners without lung disease, mean cumulative exposure was 612 Working Level Months (plus or minus 500; range 0.7 to 1954 WLM)
• Main results:
  • In the 106 miners without lung disease, serum p53 protein ranged from 74 to 5153 pg/mL, with a median of 469 pg/mL and a mean of 588 pg/mL
  • In the 106 miners, serum p53 protein showed no relationship with cumulative exposure in Working Level Months (r = 0.06, P = 0.52)
  • Serum p53 levels in the miners were comparable with those of the lung cancer groups, the non-malignant lung disease group and the healthy subjects
  • In the 106 miners, EGF receptor levels ranged from 18 to 67 fmol/mL (median and mean 37) and did not correlate with Working Level Months (r = 0.07, P = 0.41); no high EGF receptor concentrations were found in either miner group
  • The highest EGF receptor concentrations in the study were in a patient with idiopathic lung fibrosis (156 fmol/mL) and a patient with asbestos-caused lung cancer (138 fmol/mL)
  • Anti-p53 antibodies were detected in 43 subjects in total. The proportion was highest in the tumor patients (19 of 88, 22%). They were also found in 12 of 106 miners without lung disease, 3 of 21 miners with lung cancer, 6 of 50 patients with non-malignant disease, and 3 of 23 healthy subjects. Group differences were not significant.
  • Across all 288 samples, p53 and EGF receptor levels did not depend on age
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that screening with these biomarkers as radon-effect markers or as determinants of Schneeberg lung cancer cannot be recommended as of now.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The predictive value of anti-p53 antibodies could not be judged without long-term follow-up

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Tumor Suppressor Gene, Lung Cancer, Asbestos Exposure, Biomarker.

Related studies

• p53 protein, EGF receptor, and anti-p53 antibodies in serum from patients with occupationally derived lung cancer — J. Schneider, P. Presek, et al. (1999)
• Errors and blunders in the estimation of radiation exposure for the uranium miners of WISMUT in Germany — G.G. Eigenwillig (2006)
• Detection of serum p53 protein in lung cancer patients — J.C. Luo, R. Zehab, et al. (1994)
• Exposure assessment for a cohort of workers at a former uranium processing facility — J.L. Anderson, R.D. Daniels, et al. (2012)
• Gender comparisons in human lung cancer: analysis of p53 mutations, anti-p53 serum antibodies and C-erbB-2 expression — D.G. Guinee, W.D. Travis, et al. (1995)
• Increased serum concentrations of growth factor receptors and Neu in workers previously exposed to asbestos — N. Lahat, P. Froom, et al. (1999)

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