SMRP Still Among Best Diagnostic Biomarkers for Mesothelioma
| | |

SMRP Still Among Best Diagnostic Biomarkers for Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Chinese researchers say soluble mesothelin-related peptides (SMRP) in lung fluid is still one of the best biomarkers for mesothelioma, even if it sometimes produces false positives.. SMRP has been studied extensively as a way to help diagnose mesothelioma. The most popular test to check levels of SMRPs in the body is a blood test called MESOMARK. In recent years, other biomarkers for mesothelioma have also emerged. But SMRPs are not just in the blood. A new meta-analysis of SMRPs from pleural effusions finds that they have a valuable place among top biomarkers for mesothelioma. Biomarkers for Mesothelioma: SMRPs and Others Malignant mesothelioma is a type of cancer that starts on the membranes around the lungs, heart or abdomen. SMRPs are…

Mesothelin Flawed But Still the Best Mesothelioma Biomarker
| | | | | |

Mesothelin Flawed But Still the Best Mesothelioma Biomarker

ByAlex Strauss

Patients who are suspected of having mesothelioma often want to know whether there is a test to determine for certain if they have the disease. Unfortunately, no such test exists. Instead, mesothelioma diagnosis typically involves a complex combination of work and family history, symptoms, scans, biopsies and, often, a test for a protein called mesothelin. While mesothelin is not a perfect biomarker for malignant mesothelioma, a team of Australian mesothelioma researchers has confirmed that it is probably still the best one available. Biomarkers are measurable substances that can help indicate whether a patient has a particular disease. As the search for the most effective mesothelioma biomarkers continues, doctors at the University of Western Australia’s National Center for Asbestos Related Diseases…

Mesothelioma Management: Different Biomarkers Serve Different Functions
| | | | |

Mesothelioma Management: Different Biomarkers Serve Different Functions

ByAlex Strauss

Australian researchers have attempted to settle the debate about the value of the newly proposed mesothelioma biomarker fibulin-3 compared with the gold standard biomarker mesothelin.  According to their new report in the journal Thorax, mesothelin is still the best marker for diagnosing mesothelioma but fibulin-3 is better at predicting mesothelioma outcomes. The multi-center study included 153 patients – 82 with pleural mesothelioma, 36 with other types of malignancies causing pleural effusions (excess lung fluid), and 35 with benign effusions. For comparison, the team also measured biomarker levels in the blood plasma of 49 people with non-mesothelioma asbestos-related diseases. Researchers measured mesothelin and fibulin-3 levels in both pleural effusions and blood plasma and determined that mesothelin provides the best diagnostic accuracy,…

New Mesothelioma Treatment Boosts Chemotherapy Response
| | | | |

New Mesothelioma Treatment Boosts Chemotherapy Response

ByAlex Strauss

An important new study from one of the country’s top mesothelioma research labs has found a way to significantly boost the impact of chemotherapy on mesothelioma patients who are not eligible for surgery. Dr. Raffit Hassan and his colleagues at the National Cancer Institute have been focusing their efforts on an immunotoxin – a potent toxin inked to an antibody – to selectively target mesothelioma cells. The immunotoxin, called SS1P, is designed to target a protein called mesothelin, which is overexpressed in mesothelioma cells. While previous studies have shown some promise in SS1P treatment by itself, especially when the immune system is suppressed, the newest study tests the value of SS1P in combination with the most popular mesothelioma chemotherapy drugs,…

Protein Biomarkers in Mesothelioma Diagnosis, Prognosis and Treatment
| |

Protein Biomarkers in Mesothelioma Diagnosis, Prognosis and Treatment

ByAlex Strauss

Three separate teams of international researchers have confirmed that proteins found in the blood can reveal some vital information for the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of pleural mesothelioma. These new studies on mesothelioma biomarkers indicate that all three of the studied proteins have value, but for different reasons. The most recent study comes from researchers in the Czech Republic who found that serum mesothelin, a protein overexpressed in several types of cancer, is valuable to measure the severity of mesothelioma in people who have already been diagnosed, but is unlikely to help doctors find the disease earlier. Doctors in the Department of Respiratory Medicine in Palacky University Olomouc followed 239 asbestos-exposed workers for nearly 20 years. They found that mesothelin…

Sharp Rise in Mesothelin May Signal Mesothelioma
|

Sharp Rise in Mesothelin May Signal Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Another study has confirmed that the biomarker mesothelin may be a valuable warning sign ofmesothelioma in asbestos-exposed workers. In fact, it may rise sharply in the months preceding the onset of symptoms. Medical researchers have long known that exposure to the mineral asbestos dramatically increases the risk of developing malignant pleural mesothelioma. But doctors have struggled to find a way to identify which asbestos-exposed people are at highest risk. It is a significant problem because, as the authors of a new German study on the subject observe, “In patients developing malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) or lung cancer, using effective tumour markers is the quickest way to ensure early diagnosis and improve survival time.” But which biomarkers to focus on and how…

Finding May Strengthen New Mesothelioma Therapy
| |

Finding May Strengthen New Mesothelioma Therapy

ByAlex Strauss

NIH scientists believe they may have found a way to help ensure the effectiveness of a new mesothelioma drug called SS1P. SS1P is currently in clinical trials for malignant pleural mesothelioma, a rare but virulent cancer caused by asbestos inhalation. SS1P works by targeting mesothelin, an antigen expressed on the surface of several types of human cancer cells. In mesothelioma cells, mesothelin is frequently ‘shed’ and ends up in the fluid around the lungs, where it is often used to help make a diagnosis. Unfortunately, this ‘shedding’ reduces the effectiveness of SS1P and other therapies that attempt to use mesothelin to find and target mesothelioma cells with anti-cancer drugs. Like the shed mesothelin, the anti-cancer drugs can simply end up…

Promising New Target for Mesothelioma Therapy
| |

Promising New Target for Mesothelioma Therapy

ByAlex Strauss

Mesothelin, a protein found on the surface of cells, may be a promising new target for treating mesothelioma, as well as several other types of cancers, according to a recent study in the journal, Molecular Cancer Therapeutics. This protein might also help doctors diagnose certain cancers. The reason why mesothelin has captured researchers’ attention as a potential therapeutic target has to do with the way it is distributed in the body. In healthy people, mesothelin is only found in small amounts in cells lining the lungs, abdominal cavity, and heart. However, this protein is produced in higher amounts by mesothelioma, ovarian, and pancreatic cancer cells. To attack these cancers, researchers are looking at using specialized antibodies (a type of immune…