New Biomarker May Allow Earlier Diagnosis of Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma can be difficult to diagnose and early diagnosis is even more challenging due to the long latency period and similarity of symptoms to many common ailments. Researchers of the New York University Langone Medical Center have identified a new biomarker, the protein fibulin-3, which may allow for earlier diagnosis, higher efficiency of treatment and a more optimistic prognosis.

Researchers compared fibulin-3 levels from plasma and effusion samples from 142 patients with mesothelioma, 136 cancer-free individuals who had been exposed to asbestos, 93 patients with effusions not due to mesothelioma, and 91 patients with cancers other than mesothelioma.

Effusion fibulin-3 levels were significantly higher in patients with pleural mesothelioma than in patients with effusions not due to mesothelioma.  The fibulin-3 levels were able to distinguish patients with mesothelioma from those with benign effusions due to other cancer types or non-diagnosed persons who had been exposed to asbestos with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 94.1%.

In 18 patients, fibulin-3 levels fell after surgery, the biomarker could prove to be an efficient tool for not only earlier diagnosis, but also monitoring mesothelioma patient’s response to therapy or disease progression. Click here to read the abstract of this study.