title: Is soluble mesothelin-related protein an upfront predictive marker of pleural mesothelioma? A prospective study on Italian workers exposed to asbestos.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Soluble mesothelin-related peptide (SMRP) may be useful in the diagnosis and detection of early stage mesothelioma. We investigated the SMRP upfront predictive role for mesothelioma in asbestos-exposed workers.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 1,715 subjects underwent a first visit and were invited for a follow-up after 1 and 2 years, with a clinical examination and blood sampling. SMRP was measured by an ELISA assay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Median SMRP at the first visit was 0.45 [interquartile range (IQR) i.e. 25th-75th percentile: 0.30-0.67 nmol/l]. In all, 1,676 subjects (97.8%) were followed up for a median period of 47.1 months. SMRP was measured at the first visit and at both follow-up visits in 1,536 subjects. At follow-up, 3 subjects were diagnosed with an epithelioid mesothelioma. In these cases, SMRP at the first visit ranged from 0.17 to 0.52 nmol/l. Malignant pleural mesothelioma was diagnosed 9-17 months after the last SMRP evaluation. No SMRP variation was observed during the follow-up. Other 61 miscellaneous cancers were diagnosed (median SMRP at first visit: 0.50 nmol/l, IQR: 0.34-0.71 nmol/l).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results did not support the usefulness of SMRP as an early marker for the detection of the disease for a time interval of 1 year.
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Clinical Trials, IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST-Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy.
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Filiberti
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Marroni
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Spigno
authors.forename: Domenico F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Merlo
authors.forename: Virginia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mortara
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Caruso
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cioè
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Michelazzi
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bruzzone
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bobbio
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Simonassi
authors.forename: Lisette
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Del Corso
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Galli
authors.forename: Omar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Racchi
authors.forename: Guglielmo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dini
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Linares
authors.forename: Manlio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mencoboni
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001194:Asbestos / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D058851:GPI-Linked Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D000090204:Mesothelin; D008654:Mesothelioma / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D000086002:Mesothelioma, Malignant; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D010997:Pleural Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D058851:GPI-Linked Proteins; D001194:Asbestos; D000090204:Mesothelin