Is Soluble Mesothelin-Related Protein an Upfront Predictive Marker of Pleural Mesothelioma? A Prospective Study on Italian Workers Exposed to Asbestos

• Published in: Oncology Vol. 86; no. 1; pp. 33 - 43
• Main Authors: Filiberti, Rosa, Marroni, Paola, Spigno, Fabio, Merlo, Domenico F., Mortara, Virginia, Caruso, Pietro, Cioè, Alex, Michelazzi, Luigi, Bruzzone, Andrea, Bobbio, Barbara, Simonassi, Claudio, Del Corso, Lisette, Galli, Roberto, Racchi, Omar, Dini, Guglielmo, Linares, Roberta, Mencoboni, Manlio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel, Switzerland S. Karger AG 01.01.2014
• Subjects: Aged; Asbestos; Asbestos - adverse effects; Biomarkers, Tumor - blood; Clinical Translational Research; Epidemiology; Follow-Up Studies; GPI-Linked Proteins - blood; Humans; Lung cancer; Lung Neoplasms - blood; Lung Neoplasms - diagnosis; Mesothelioma - blood; Mesothelioma - diagnosis; Mesothelioma, Malignant; Middle Aged; Occupational Exposure; Occupational hazards; Pleural Neoplasms - blood; Pleural Neoplasms - diagnosis; Prospective Studies; Proteins; Mesothelin; Asbestos exposure; Malignant pleural mesothelioma
• ISSN: 0030-2414; 1423-0232
• DOI: 10.1159/000355687

Objective: Soluble mesothelin-related peptide (SMRP) may be useful in the diagnosis and detection of early stage mesothelioma. We investigated the SMRP upfront predictive role for mesothelioma in asbestos-exposed workers. Methods: A total of 1,715 subjects underwent a first visit and were invited for a follow-up after 1 and 2 years, with a clinical examination and blood sampling. SMRP was measured by an ELISA assay. Results: Median SMRP at the first visit was 0.45 [interquartile range (IQR) i.e. 25th-75th percentile: 0.30-0.67 nmol/l]. In all, 1,676 subjects (97.8%) were followed up for a median period of 47.1 months. SMRP was measured at the first visit and at both follow-up visits in 1,536 subjects. At follow-up, 3 subjects were diagnosed with an epithelioid mesothelioma. In these cases, SMRP at the first visit ranged from 0.17 to 0.52 nmol/l. Malignant pleural mesothelioma was diagnosed 9-17 months after the last SMRP evaluation. No SMRP variation was observed during the follow-up. Other 61 miscellaneous cancers were diagnosed (median SMRP at first visit: 0.50 nmol/l, IQR: 0.34-0.71 nmol/l). Conclusions: Our results did not support the usefulness of SMRP as an early marker for the detection of the disease for a time interval of 1 year.