Utility of osteopontin and serum mesothelin in malignant pleural mesothelioma diagnosis and prognosis assessment.
OBJECTIVE
Malignant mesothelioma is a highly aggressive tumor and is often diagnosed too late for a curative treatment. We compared diagnostic and prognostic values of mesothelin and osteopontin in 172 patients suspected of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) and in a control group of 112 asymptomatic asbestos-exposed subjects.


METHODS
Osteopontin and mesothelin were assayed with commercial ELISA kits in a series of 43 patients with pleural metastases of various carcinomas, 33 patients with benign pleural lesions associated with asbestos exposure, 96 patients with MPMs, and 112 asbestos-exposed healthy subjects. Results were correlated with patient's diagnosis and survival.


RESULTS
Serum osteopontin level was higher in MPM patients compared with healthy asbestos-exposed subjects and had a good capability to distinguish between these two populations. However, osteopontin was unable to distinguish between MPM and pleural metastatic carcinoma or benign pleural lesions associated with asbestos exposure. Neither plasma nor pleural fluid osteopontin were more powerful in this respect. Serum mesothelin had a good ability for diagnosing MPM but was unable to identify patients with nonepithelioid mesothelioma subtypes. Survival analysis identified tumor histologic subtype along with serum osteopontin and serum mesothelin as independent prognostic factors in mesothelioma patients.


CONCLUSIONS
Osteopontin has a lower diagnostic accuracy than mesothelin in patients suspected of MPM. Insufficient specificity limits osteopontin utility as diagnostic marker. Both molecules have a potential value as prognostic markers.
Grigoriu
Bogdan-Dragos
BD
Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale (INSERM) U774, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Lille, France.
Scherpereel
Arnaud
A
Devos
Patrick
P
Chahine
Bachar
B
Letourneux
Marc
M
Lebailly
Pierre
P
Grégoire
Marc
M
Porte
Henri
H
Copin
Marie-Christine
MC
Lassalle
Philippe
P
D000368:Aged; D045604:Extracellular Fluid / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D058851:GPI-Linked Proteins; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000097:blood*; D000090204:Mesothelin; D008654:Mesothelioma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality; D008875:Middle Aged; D053495:Osteopontin / Q000097:blood*; D010994:Pleura / Q000737:chemistry; D010997:Pleural Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality; D011379:Prognosis; D016019:Survival Analysis
D058851:GPI-Linked Proteins; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D053495:Osteopontin; D000090204:Mesothelin