Serum PDGF-AB in pleural mesothelioma.
Overexpression of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) has been observed in lung and pleural tumors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic role of serum PDGF in pleural mesothelioma (PM). Four groups of subjects were studied: 93 malignant PM patients, 33 primary non small cell lung cancer patients, 51 subjects exposed to asbestos, defined as high-risk controls, and 24 healthy controls. PDGF-AB mean concentration was higher in PM patients (45.8 ng/ml) than in high-risk controls (33.1 ng/ml) and healthy controls (26.8 ng/ml). Using the cut-off level of 49.8 ng/ml, corresponding to the mean+2SD of PDGF-AB in healthy controls, 43% of PM patients showed positive PDGF-AB levels. Survival was evaluated in 82 PM patients. At the end of the follow-up (median 9.8 months) 80.5% of patients had died. Median survival was 13.1 and 7.9 months for patients with PDGF-AB lower and higher than the cut-off, respectively. Adjusting for age, sex, histology and platelet count, positive PDGF-AB levels were associated with lower survival (OR=1.2, 95%CI: 0.9-1.6), even if not significantly so. In conclusion, serum PDGF may represent a useful additional parameter to prognostic factors already available for PM.
Filiberti
Rosa
R
Division of Environmental Epidemiology, National Cancer Research Institute, Genova, Italy. rosangela.filiberti@istge.it
Marroni
Paola
P
Neri
Monica
M
Ardizzoni
Andrea
A
Betta
Pier Giacomo
PG
Cafferata
Mara A
MA
Canessa
Pier Aldo
PA
Puntoni
Riccardo
R
Ivaldi
Giovanni Paolo
GP
Paganuzzi
Michela
M
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008654:Mesothelioma / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010982:Platelet-Derived Growth Factor / Q000032:analysis*; D010997:Pleural Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D016019:Survival Analysis
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D010982:Platelet-Derived Growth Factor; C095477:platelet-derived growth factor AB