Serum mesothelin and other biomarkers: what have we learned in the last decade?

Abstract

In the last decade there is been much interest in noninvasive, economic and well-accepted diagnostic tests for screening of subjects exposed to asbestos, and in patients with malignant pleuric mesothelioma (MPM) for diagnosis or monitoring response to treatment. Several biomarkers have been suggested as tools for screening and early diagnosis of MPM. Currently, in patients with MPM, have been reported high levels of soluble mesothelin-related peptides (SMRP), plasmatic osteopontin (pOPN), vimentin, fibulin-3 and many others as promising marker for diagnosis, even their use in prevention monitoring is still discussed. In this type of disease, a key role could be played by miRNAs, which expression has been investigated in a large series of MPM to examine new pathways useful in diagnosis, prognosis and therapy. An altered expression of some proteins has been reported, useful as biomarkers, in comparative proteomic analysis of malignant pleural mesothelioma. New promising markers are nowadays under study and alone or better in combination, they'll be very helpful in diagnosing, monitoring mesothelioma patients or for screening of risk groups.

S100A4 Is a Biomarker of Tumorigenesis, EMT, Invasion, and Colonization of Host Organs in Experimental Malignant Mesothelioma

“…The pertinence of several MM biomarkers has been analyzed over the last decade; however, for diagnostic purposes, none are satisfactory, although many are under investigation [29,30]. Sudo et al previously emphasized the fact that while the pathological diagnostic markers for epithelioid MM were established, no adequate marker for sarcomatoid MM was found, when they identified AHNAK as a potential marker 5 years ago [31].…”

Evaluation of soluble mesothelin-related peptides and MSLN genetic variability in asbestos-related diseases

“…Among serum biomarkers, especially fibulin-3 and osteopontin are promising candidates, but novel biomarkers, such as plasma biomarkers, HMGB1, mRNA and microRNA expression, are also emerging. 16,[39][40][41][42][43][44][45] Additionally, recent studies suggest that a combination of different biomarkers could improve the predictive capacity of SMRP. 41,42,44,46,47 Our present results show that genetic variability affecting the expression of these biomarkers should also be taken into account.…”

Asbestos-Related Diseases and Blood Biomarkers

“…Apart from the most frequently studied biomarkers described above, some studies investigated other serum or plasma factors in asbestos-related diseases [83][84][85]. Among protein biomarkers, megakaryocyte potentiating factor and high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) were increased in MM patients compared to healthy individuals or patients with benign asbestos-related diseases [84,85].…”

“…Additionally, novel studies suggest microRNA (miRNA) expression could also serve as a diagnostic or prognostic biomarker in MM [84][85][86]. Kirschner et al compared cell-free miRNA profiles in plasma from MM patients with healthy controls and proposed the potential role of miRNA-29c* and miRNA-92a as a candidate tumour biomarkers, and indicated that miRNA-625-3p is a promising novel diagnostic marker for MM [86].…”

“…As individual biomarkers that have been proposed in asbestos-related diseases have some limitations, it was suggested that a combination of different factors might be a better diagnostic or prognostic biomarker in asbestos-related diseases [83][84][85].…”