ERC/mesothelin as a marker for chemotherapeutic response in patients with mesothelioma.
BACKGROUND
It has been recently reported that soluble mesothelin-related protein (SMRP), serum mesothelin, and osteopontin (OPN) are considered as relevant biomarkers for the diagnosis of mesothelioma. The aim of this study was to investigate whether serum N-ERC/mesothelin, an NH3-terminal fragment of mesothelin, and plasma OPN reflect chemotherapeutic effect in patients with mesothelioma.


METHODS
Serum N-ERC/mesothelin and plasma osteopontin were determined with a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) system.


RESULTS
The average N-ERC ratio, determined by dividing the N-ERC levels following chemotherapy by those prior to chemotherapy, in the partial response (PR) group was significantly lower than that of the stable disease (SD)/progressive disease (PD) group. In contrast, the average OPN ratio, determined by dividing the OPN levels following chemotherapy by those prior to chemotherapy, in the PR group was not statistically different from that of the SD/PD group.


CONCLUSIONS
N-ERC/mesothelin is considered as relevant in monitoring chemotherapeutic response in patients with mesothelioma.
Tajima
Ken
K
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Juntendo University, School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan. tajiken@med.juntendo.ac.jp
Hirama
Michihiro
M
Shiomi
Kazu
K
Ishiwata
Toshiji
T
Yoshioka
Masataka
M
Iwase
Akihiko
A
Iwakami
Shinichiro
S
Yamazaki
Mariko
M
Toba
Michie
M
Tobino
Kazunori
K
Sugano
Koji
K
Ichikawa
Masako
M
Hagiwara
Yoshiaki
Y
Takahashi
Kazuhisa
K
Hino
Okio
O
D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D058851:GPI-Linked Proteins; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000097:blood*; D000090204:Mesothelin; D008654:Mesothelioma / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D053495:Osteopontin / Q000097:blood
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D058851:GPI-Linked Proteins; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D053495:Osteopontin; D000090204:Mesothelin