Review
Oncology
Fraser Brims
Summary: Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the lungs caused by breathing in asbestos fibres, which remains a challenge in terms of treatment and has an uncertain survival time. The disease mainly occurs in males, with a clear risk associated with exposure to asbestos. There have been significant advances in diagnosis, but further research and treatment are still needed.
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Antonia Marazioti, Anthi C. Krontira, Sabine J. Behrend, Georgia A. Giotopoulou, Giannoula Ntaliarda, Christophe Blanquart, Hasan Bayram, Marianthi Iliopoulou, Malamati Vreka, Lilith Trassl, Mario A. A. Pepe, Caroline M. Hackl, Laura Klotz, Stefanie A. Weiss, Ina Koch, Michael Lindner, Rudolph A. Hatz, Juergen Behr, Darcy E. Wagner, Helen Papadaki, Sophia G. Antimisiaris, Didier Jean, Sophie Deshayes, Marc Gregoire, Ozgecan Kayalar, Deniz Mortazavi, Sukru Dilege, Serhan Tanju, Suat Erus, Omer Yavuz, Pinar Bulutay, Pinar Firat, Ioannis Psallidas, Magda Spella, Ioanna Giopanou, Ioannis Lilis, Anne-Sophie Lamort, Georgios T. Stathopoulos
Summary: A portion of human MPM cases have mutations in KRAS, and mouse models suggest that KRAS mutations can lead to MPM, especially when combined with TP53 deletion. These findings indicate that KRAS alterations may play an important and underestimated role in certain MPM patients.
EMBO MOLECULAR MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Respiratory System
Job P. van Kooten, Robert A. Belderbos, Jan H. von der Thusen, Mieke J. Aarts, Cornelis Verhoef, Jacobus A. Burgers, Paul Baas, Arend G. J. Aalbers, Alexander P. W. M. Maat, Joachim G. J. Aerts, Robin Cornelissen, Eva V. E. Madsen
Summary: The incidence of malignant mesothelioma in the Netherlands is declining, especially in male patients under 80 years old. The use of systemic chemotherapy has increased since 2003, which may contribute to improved overall survival. However, the majority of patients do not receive antitumor treatment, and prognosis remains poor.
Review
Respiratory System
Marie Shamseddin, Joanna Obacz, Mathew J. Garnett, Robert Campbell Rintoul, Hayley Elizabeth Francies, Stefan John Marciniak
Summary: Malignant pleural mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer with a median survival of 12-18 months and existing models have limitations, so new technologies are being developed to study effective treatments.
Article
Critical Care Medicine
Christophe Paris, Isabelle Thaon, Francois Laurent, Anastasia Saade, Pascal Andujar, Patrick Brochard, Julia Benoist, Benedicte Clin, Gilbert Ferretti, Antoine Gislard, Cecile Gramond, Pascal Wild, Aude Lacourt, Fleur Delva, Jean-Claude Pairon
Summary: This study found significant associations between cumulative exposure to refractory ceramic fibers (RCFs) and mineral wool fibers (MWFs) and the presence of pleural plaques in a large population previously exposed to asbestos and screened by using CT scans. The dose-response relationships were modified by co-exposure to asbestos.
Article
Oncology
Pietro Gino Barbieri, Dario Consonni, Anna Somigliana
Summary: The study found no significant relationship between asbestos lung burden and survival, with histologic subtype being the strongest prognostic determinant.
JOURNAL OF THORACIC ONCOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Laura Saracino, Chandra Bortolotto, Stefano Tomaselli, Elia Fraolini, Matteo Bosio, Giulia Accordino, Francesco Agustoni, David M. Abbott, Emma Pozzi, Dimitrios Eleftheriou, Patrizia Morbini, Pietro Rinaldi, Cristiano Primiceri, Andrea Lancia, Patrizia Comoli, Andrea R. Filippi, Giulia M. Stella
Summary: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare and aggressive malignancy commonly caused by asbestos exposure. A multidisciplinary team in San Matteo hospital has been collecting data on over 100 MPM patients since 2018, aiming to define an integrated profile for each case at diagnosis. The study found that personalized treatment approaches based on gender and smoking history can lead to improved outcomes for MPM patients.
Article
Oncology
Enrico Oddone, Jordy Bollon, Consuelo Rubina Nava, Dario Consonni, Alessandro Marinaccio, Corrado Magnani, Antonio Gasparrini, Francesco Barone-Adesi
Summary: This study utilized asbestos consumption data to predict future malignant pleural mesothelioma cases in Italy, with results showing an expected peak in 2021 (1122 cases) and a subsequent decrease in mortality (344 cases in 2039). The exposure-response curve demonstrates that the relative risk (RR) of MPM increases linearly for lower levels of exposure but flattens at higher levels, indicating the most significant contributions to risk come from exposure 20-40 years before death.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Masayuki Watanabe, Tomohito Higashi, Kana Ozeki, Atsuko Y. Higashi, Kotaro Sugimoto, Hayato Mine, Hironori Takagi, Yuki Ozaki, Satoshi Muto, Naoyuki Okabe, Yuki Matsumura, Takeo Hasegawa, Yutaka Shio, Hiroyuki Suzuki, Hideki Chiba
Summary: This study identified claudin-15 as a potential positive marker for malignant pleural mesotheliomas, with high expression levels in 83% of MPM tissue samples. The specificity of CLDN15 was comparable to other markers in lung adenocarcinoma sections. CLDN15 showed low expression in non-mesothelial tumors, suggesting its potential clinical utility for MPM diagnosis.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Respiratory System
Danila Azzolina, Dario Consonni, Daniela Ferrante, Dario Mirabelli, Stefano Silvestri, Ferdinando Luberto, Alessia Angelini, Francesco Cuccaro, Anna Maria Nannavecchia, Enrico Oddone, Massimo Vicentini, Francesco Barone-Adesi, Tiziana Cena, Lucia Mangone, Francesca Roncaglia, Orietta Sala, Simona Menegozzo, Roberta Pirastu, Sara Tunesi, Elisabetta Chellini, Lucia Miligi, Patrizia Perticaroli, Aldo Pettinari, Vittoria Bressan, Enzo Merler, Paolo Girardi, Lucia Bisceglia, Alessandro Marinaccio, Stefania Massari, Corrado Magnani
Summary: This study aimed to estimate the rate advancement of lung cancer and pleural mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure. The results showed a significant acceleration in the onset of these diseases after asbestos exposure.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Enrica Migliore, Dario Consonni, Susan Peters, Roel C. H. Vermeulen, Hans Kromhout, Antonio Baldassarre, Domenica Cavone, Elisabetta Chellini, Corrado Magnani, Carolina Mensi, Enzo Merler, Marina Musti, Alessandro Marinaccio, Dario Mirabelli
Summary: This study assessed the risk factors for pleural mesothelioma and asbestos exposure in different regions of Italy through a case-control study, and found an increased risk of mesothelioma in industries and occupations related to asbestos. The study also provided quantitative estimates of the exposure-response relationship.
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Giovanni Cugliari, Alessandra Allione, Alessia Russo, Chiara Catalano, Elisabetta Casalone, Simonetta Guarrera, Federica Grosso, Daniela Ferrante, Marika Sculco, Marta La Vecchia, Chiara Pirazzini, Roberta Libener, Dario Mirabelli, Corrado Magnani, Irma Dianzani, Giuseppe Matullo
Summary: Our study identified specific DNA methylation markers in the FKBP5 and MLLT1 genes that are associated with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) and may be linked to asbestos exposure. These epigenetic changes in easily accessible white blood cells show promise as potential noninvasive tests for MPM risk assessment in asbestos-exposed individuals.
Review
Oncology
Anna K. Nowak, Wee Loong Chin, Synat Keam, Alistair Cook
Summary: Research has shown that immunotherapy, particularly immune checkpoint inhibitors, offers new treatment options for mesothelioma patients where previous standard treatments provided minimal benefits. Clinical trials on single agent and combination checkpoint inhibitors, as well as their combination with chemotherapy, have been conducted to explore these promising treatment avenues. Current advances in biomarker identification for predicting patients' responses to checkpoint inhibitors are also being studied to improve treatment outcomes for mesothelioma patients.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Min Zhang, Hailin Xia, Min Yu, Li Ju, Yun Xiao, Lijin Zhu
Summary: The study revealed that chrysotile caused dose-dependent DNA damage in MeT-5A and BEAS-2B cells, with MeT-5A cells showing more persistent damage. PARP1-deficient cells were found to be more sensitive to chrysotile-induced DNA damage compared to normal cells. Furthermore, the repair experiments showed that all cell lines were able to recover from the damage over time, indicating the important role of PARP1 in early repair of DNA damage in cells exposed to chrysotile.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Eline Janssens, Eline Schillebeeckx, Kathleen Zwijsen, Jo Raskin, Joris Van Cleemput, Veerle F. Surmont, Kristiaan Nackaerts, Elly Marcq, Jan P. van Meerbeeck, Kevin Lamote
Summary: This study investigated the potential of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as biomarkers for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) and performed external validation of a VOC-based prediction model for MPM. The initial validation showed poor performance, but subsequent updates improved the model's performance, demonstrating potential for screening.
