Splicing molecular biology and novel therapies in diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma

Our plain-English summary of Splicing molecular biology and novel therapies in diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma, by A. Napolitano (EBioMedicine, 2019).

The study

• Author: A. Napolitano
• Journal: EBioMedicine
• Published: 2019;39:7-8
• Type of article: Comment
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

In plain English

This short article is a commentary, not a research study. The author collected no new data on patients, tissue or animals. It discusses diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (DMPM), a rare cancer arising from the peritoneum (the lining of the abdomen). The author noted that DMPM is associated with occupational asbestos exposure in about 60% of cases, but named no fiber type. The author argued that the search for new DMPM treatments had been held back by the rarity of the disease, and that findings from malignant pleural mesothelioma might not carry over directly to DMPM. The commentary describes a separate study by Sciarrillo et al. According to the author, that study found higher expression of splice factor genes in DMPM than in normal mesothelium tissues, and linked overexpression of the splicing factor SF3B1 with significantly worse clinical outcome. The author called for collaboration to validate these results in patients. The author also suggested that further laboratory work explore combining SF3B modulators with chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

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: Commentary (editorial) on a study by Sciarrillo et al.; no original data
• Who was studied: No patients, samples or animals were studied; the commentary discusses research on diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (DMPM)
• Exposure: No exposure was studied. As background, the author states that in about 60% of cases DMPM is associated with occupational (professional) asbestos exposure; no fiber type is named.
• Main results:
  • Not a finding of this article. It is the author's argument that the search for new, DMPM-specific therapies has been hindered by the rarity of the disease.
  • Not a finding of this article. It is the author's argument that findings from malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) might not translate directly to DMPM.
  • Not a finding of this article. The author reports that the separate study by Sciarrillo et al. found higher expression of splice factor genes in DMPM than in normal mesothelium tissues.
  • Not a finding of this article. The author reports that the separate study by Sciarrillo et al. found overexpression of the splicing factor SF3B1 to be associated with significantly worse clinical outcome in DMPM.
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that collaboration is needed to validate the Sciarrillo et al. results in patients. The author also stated that it will be critical to explore possible synergies between SF3B modulators, chemotherapy and immunotherapy in laboratory models.

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Peritoneal Mesothelioma.

Related studies

• Splicing modulation as novel therapeutic strategy against diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma — R. Sciarrillo, A. Wojtuszkiewicz, et al. (2019)
• Molecular characterization of diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma — Y.P. Hung, F. Dong, et al. (2020)
• Surgical biology for the clinician: peritoneal mesothelioma: current understanding and management — T.C. Chua, T.D. Yan, et al. (2009)
• The diagnostic and molecular characteristics of malignant mesothelioma and ovarian/peritoneal serous carcinoma — B. Davidson (2011)
• Molecular Analysis of a Patient With Neurofibromatosis 2 (NF2) and Peritoneal Malignant Mesothelioma — C. Glass, L.M. Sholl, et al. (2020)
• A novel nomogram for peritoneal mesothelioma predicts survival — N.P. Schaub, M. Alimchandani, et al. (2013)

Browse more research in EBioMedicine, or return to medical research.