Mesothelin is currently considered the best available serum biomarker for malignant pleural mesothelioma. To examine the reported diagnostic accuracy of mesothelin and evaluate its value for early diagnosis, the authors performed a meta-analysis on the individual patient data (IPD) of 16 diagnostic studies, representing a total of 4,491 individuals, including 1,026 patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.
They found a significant heterogeneity in reported diagnostic accuracies of mesothelin (see Figure for sensitivity of mesothelin in different studies). Differences in study population can explain this heterogeneity, since the type of control group, mesothelioma …
The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation is calling for applications for its 2012 round of mesothelioma research grant funding. Continuing its efforts to stimulate translational research for the treatment of malignant mesothelioma, the Meso Foundation is again soliciting applications for funding of innovative projects that address issues for the treatment of the disease.
A recent publication by Sekido and colleagues has highlighted the connection between two relevant survival/growth pathways in mesothelioma, TGF-beta and NF2/Hippo.
TGF-beta may play important roles in the immune regulation of mesothelioma and in the production of extracellular matrix.
NF2 (neurofibromatosis type 2; Merlin) gene or downstream signaling molecules of the Hippo signaling cascade contain inactivating mutations in nearly 75% of MM cases.
Given the high level of IL-4 receptor alpha (IL-4Ra) in other human cancers and the tumor promoting effects of IL-4, the authors in the present study studied the presence and possible role of IL-4Ra in mesothelioma.
RT-PCR and immunohistochemical analysis confirmed the expression of IL-4Ra in human mesothelioma; strong expression of IL-4Ra correlated with poor survival in patients with epithelial histology following surgery. Moreover, intracellular cytokine analysis of T cells demonstrated that the T cells are the potential source of IL-4.
Furthermore, IL-4 tested on four different mesothelioma cell lines induced an …
The BRCA1 (breast cancer gene 1) tumour suppressor gene has been reported as a potential predictive biomarker of response to chemotherapy to antimicrotubule agents including vinorelbine, vincristine, paclitaxel and docetaxel. High levels of BRCA1 mRNA expression have been linked to better response rates and improved progression-free survival.
The data presented here highlights that BRCA1-immunonegativity can effectively predict resistance to vinorelbine and microtubule-directed chemotherapy .
