Mesothelioma and Colorectal Cancer: Report of Four Cases with Synchronous and Metachronous Presentation

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 23; no. 5; p. 2630
• Main Authors: Serio, Gabriella, Pezzuto, Federica, Fortarezza, Francesco, Marzullo, Andrea, Delfino, Maria Celeste, d'Amati, Antonio, Romano, Daniele Egidio, Maniglio, Sonia, Caporusso, Concetta, Lettini, Teresa, Cavone, Domenica, Vimercati, Luigi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.03.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Asbestos; Asbestos - toxicity; BAP1; Breast cancer; Cancer therapies; Carcinogenesis; Carcinogens; Case Report; Cell cycle; Cell growth; Chemotherapy; Colon; Colon cancer; Colorectal cancer; Colorectal carcinoma; Colorectal Neoplasms - chemically induced; Colorectal Neoplasms - diagnosis; Colorectal Neoplasms - genetics; Cyclin-dependent kinase; Cyclin-dependent kinases; Disease; Enzyme inhibitors; Family medical history; Fibers; Humans; Kinases; Lung Neoplasms - etiology; Lung Neoplasms - genetics; Medical prognosis; Mesothelioma; Mesothelioma - chemically induced; Mesothelioma - diagnosis; Mesothelioma, Malignant; Mortality; Mutation; Organs; Patients; peritoneum; pleura; Tumor suppressor genes; Tumor Suppressor Proteins - genetics; Tumors; Ubiquitin Thiolesterase - genetics; peritoneum; asbestos; CDKN2A; colon cancer; pleura; mesothelioma; BAP1
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms23052630

There is evidence that asbestos could play a role in the carcinogenesis of digestive cancers. The presence of asbestos fibres in histological samples from gastric, biliary, colon cancers has been reported, but the mechanism is still controversial. It has been hypothesised that asbestos reaches these sites, especially through contaminated water; however, some experimental studies have shown that the inhaled fibres are mobile, so they can migrate to many organs, directly or via blood and lymph flow. We report four unusual cases of colorectal cancers in patients with a long history of asbestos exposure who also developed synchronous or metachronous mesothelioma. We evaluated the roles of BRCA associated protein-1 ( ) and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A ( ) in colon cancer and mesothelioma to support the hypothesis that and are tumour suppressor genes involved in disease progression, recurrence, or death in both digestive cancers and mesothelioma. Potentially, these markers may be used as predictors of worse prognosis, but we also stress the importance of clinical surveillance of exposed patients because asbestos could induce cancer in any organ.