Researchers in Australia recently made a discovery which could improve early diagnosis rates for mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer caused almost exclusively by asbestos exposure. The scientists discovered that a specific family of proteins, known as serum mesothelin, can be detected in some mesothelioma patients at much higher than normal levels. The discovery suggests a correlation between the cancer and the protein family, and could contribute to developing a more effective battery of diagnostic tests for the disease.
Mesothelioma is a terminal cancer that affects some 90,000 people worldwide every year. In the United States, at least 3,000 people die annually after suffering with the cancer for an average of six to eighteen months. Mesothelioma is caused almost exclusively by exposure to asbestos fibers.
Asbestos, a fibrous mineral historically used as an insulator, sealant, and fire retardant, breaks apart easily into microscopic, hair like fibers. These fibers often enter the body accidentally either through inhalation or ingestion, but due to their unique shape pass easily through many tissues such as the lung wall or intestines. The fibers eventually become entangled in a soft, sticky tissue known as the mesothelium, where they cause a scarring reaction that can develop into a malignant tumor given enough time. Mesothelioma often takes ten to fifty years to fully develop.
Most individuals who suffer with mesothelioma were at one time exposed to asbestos fibers consistently through their place of employment. While examining an individual’s work history is still a critical part of a mesothelioma diagnosis, new methods of determining risk factors for the disease such as evaluating the level of the protein family serum mesothelin could increase early diagnosis rates. At present, only a biopsy can definitively confirm mesothelioma.
The serum mesothelin research involved measuring the levels of the protein family in a variety of individuals who had been exposed to asbestos fibers. The serum mesothelin levels where measured progressively at similar intervals as time passed. Of the patients who ultimately developed mesothelioma, some fifteen percent demonstrated dramatically higher levels of mesothelin directly before a positive diagnosis. Nearly forty percent of the test group showed a similar rise in mesothelin levels at the same time, but did not ultimately develop the disease. The researchers are still interpreting the results.
The mesothelin serum research does not in itself represent a more effective mesothelioma screening test. In the future, however, research like this could contribute to the development of more accurate screening tests for mesothelioma.