| |

The Best Biomarkers for Mesothelioma Diagnosis, Prognosis, & Monitoring

ByAlex Strauss
Best Biomarkers for Mesothelioma

What are the best biomarkers for mesothelioma? The answer is still Soluble Mesothelin-Related Proteins (SMRPs).

That is the conclusion of a major review of medical literature by some of the world’s top mesothelioma experts. Dr. Harvey Pass of New York University’s Langone Medical Center and Dr. Michele Carbone of the University of Hawaii are among the authors on the new report. 

They analyzed 20 years of research on the best biomarkers for mesothelioma. Several were valuable for mesothelioma prognosis. But SMRPs once again came out the winner for mesothelioma prognosis, diagnosis, and treatment monitoring. 

How Do Biomarkers Work?

A biomarker is any substance produced by the body that can act as a biological signpost. Proteins usually make the best biomarkers for mesothelioma. The proteins may be in the tissue, blood, or other body fluid. Some biomarkers are even in the exhaled breath. 

Lung fluid is a common place to find mesothelioma markers. People with mesothelioma usually produce excess lung fluid called pleural effusions. Doctors can extract some of the fluid and test it. 

Lung fluid tests may be combined with other biomarker tests and imaging studies. Together, they offer a non-invasive way for doctors to gather clues about a patient’s illness.

What the Best Biomarkers for Mesothelioma Do

Doctors often use biomarkers to help diagnose mesothelioma. They can also use them to predict how an individual will respond to mesothelioma treatment. During treatment, biomarkers can show if the therapy is working. The best biomarkers for mesothelioma do all three. 

The National Cancer Institute funds research on biomarkers around the country. Different laboratories focus on finding and testing biomarkers for different types of cancer. Two of these Early Detection Research Network (EDRN) sites focus on mesothelioma. The EDRN Mesothelioma Biomarker Discovery Labs are located at NYU and the University of Hawaii.

Researchers from both institutions prepared the new report on the best biomarkers for mesothelioma. They analyzed studies on proposed mesothelioma biomarkers including SMRP, osteopontin, calretinin, fibulin 3, and High-Mobility Group Box 1 (HMGB1). 

They conclude that SMRPs in the blood make the best biomarkers for mesothelioma. 

According to the report, “Soluble Mesothelin-Related Proteins (SMRP) have been characterized extensively and constitute an FDA-approved biomarker in plasma with diagnostic, monitoring and prognostic value in MPM.”

The FDA-approved MESOMARK assay tests for SMRPs in the blood. 

Other Ways to Track Mesothelioma

SMRPs may be the best biomarkers for mesothelioma, but others may also help in its management. The group concluded that the protein osteopontin is helpful for mesothelioma prognosis. It is not as valuable for diagnosis as SMRPs. 

“Other biomarkers such as calretinin, fibulin 3, and High-Mobility Group Box 1 (HMGB1) remain under study and need international validation trials with large cohorts of cases and controls to demonstrate any utility.” the team concludes. 

Large cohorts are a challenge because mesothelioma is so rare. 

In the meantime, a positive MESOMARK test does not mean that a person has mesothelioma. Doctors use a combination of biomarkers, biopsies, imaging studies, physical exams and patient histories to diagnose mesothelioma and track its progression.

Source:

Pass, H, et al, “Mesothelioma Biomarkers: A Review Highlighting Contributions from the Early Detection Research Network”, July 22, 2020, Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, Epub ahead of print, https://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/early/2020/07/22/1055-9965.EPI-20-0083

Similar Posts

  • |

    Mesothelioma Blood Test May Be Possible

    ByAlex Strauss

    An international team of researchers is studying the proteins found on the surface of cancer cells in an effort to improve mesothelioma diagnosis. The team, made up of scientists from the US, Switzerland, Italy and Chile, has just published their findings on a new kind of test to identify protein-derived mesothelioma biomarkers in blood serum. Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer of the membranes around organs. Because the most common mesothelioma biomarker, mesothelin, is also overproduced by other kinds of cancer cells, it has only limited diagnostic value. A test to identify a set of proteins produced specifically by mesothelioma cells could greatly improve diagnostic accuracy. Led by Ferdinando Cerciello and Bernd Wollscheid of the Institute of Molecular Systems Biology in…

  • | |

    Needle Biopsy “Simple, Safe & Accurate” for Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    Mesothelioma researchers in China say a biopsy method that involves a single skin puncture can produce good diagnostic results for mesothelioma patients with little pain or risk. The study focused on percutaneous (through the skin) biopsy in patients who had unexplained fluid buildup or swelling in their abdomens. Abdominal distension and fluid buildup (called ascites) can be signs of peritoneal mesothelioma, a rare but aggressive cancer of the abdominal lining caused by exposure to asbestos. Peritoneal mesothelioma accounts for less than 30% of all mesothelioma cases. Because the symptoms may be vague and often develop many decades after asbestos exposure, peritoneal mesothelioma can be especially challenging to diagnose.  Misdiagnosis and under-diagnosis are not uncommon. In the newest study on percutaneous…

  • | |

    Inflammation Both “Friend and Foe” in Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    An immune system response that causes mesothelioma symptoms such as fever, fatigue, and weight loss may also be helpful to clinicians as a way to find and treat the disease. Scientists with The Asbestos Diseases Research Institute in Sydney, Australia make that case that both systemic inflammation (throughout the body) and at the site of a tumor – has long been associated with mesothelioma and other cancers. Inflammation results when the body attempts to address the imbalances of cancer by producing more of certain immune system cells. Some inflammatory markers, such as CD+8 T-cells and C-reactive protein, have been linked to better prognosis in mesothelioma. Other inflammatory markers, such as certain macrophages and a high neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, can signal the…

  • |

    New Prognostic Factor in Peritoneal Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare form of mesothelioma that attacks the membrane that lines the abdomen and surrounds internal organs. The outlook for this rare malignancy, which affects fewer than 500 Americans annually, has been improved by the treatment combination of cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). The combination has produced 5-year overall survival rates ranging from 29% to 63%. But not all peritoneal mesothelioma patients are good candidates for CRS/HIPEC. The challenge, for clinicians, is identifying which patients are likely to benefit from the procedure (or even be cured) and which are not. In an effort to help answer that question, French researchers recently tested the prognostic value of the glucose transporter protein GLUT1 as well as…

  • | |

    FDG PET-CT Results Could Lead to Improved Mesothelioma Treatment

    ByAlex Strauss

    In a recent study, researchers say a better understanding of certain diagnostic criteria could result in more targeted treatments for malignant mesothelioma. In a recent published report, doctors from the medical school at Dicle University in Diyarbakir, Turkey measured the relationship between PET-CT scan results and survival in 177 patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. The patients were diagnosed between April 2007 and April 2011. They had a mean age of 55.4 and most (56%) were male. Patients in the study all had FDG PET-CT scans before beginning their mesothelioma treatment. FDG PET-CT scanning is a powerful imaging tool for mesothelioma and other cancers that combines a radioactive tracer with a combination of positron emission tomography and computed tomography scanning.  Because…

  • | |

    Mesothelioma Surgeons Report New Biopsy Technique

    ByAlex Strauss

    A team of surgeons in Maryland have demonstrated how using a standard biopsy tool in a new way could improve the biopsy process for certain mesothelioma patients. An aggressive cancer of the pleural lining around the lungs, malignant pleural mesothelioma usually requires a tissue biopsy to make a definitive diagnosis. Often this is done using a rigid tool called a thoracoscope inserted into the chest wall while the patient is under general anesthesia. However, mesothelioma doctors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center detail the case of a 79-year-old suspected mesothelioma patient whose biopsy was done in a minimally-invasive way, under conscious sedation, thanks to the novel use of a standard tool. Although the patient had several of the common signs…