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Abramson Cancer CenterNCI CANCERLIT® Search: Malignant Mesothelioma - October 2001
National Cancer Institute®
Last Modified: November 21, 2001
Table of Contents
1
UI - 21256514
AU - Leonardo E; Zanconati F; Bonifacio D; Bonito LD
TI -
Immunohistochemical MIB-1 and p27kip1 as prognostic factors in pleural
mesothelioma.
SO - Pathol Res Pract 2001;197(4):253-6
AD - Department of Pathology, S. Luigi Gonzaga Hospital, Orbassano, Torino,
Italy.
Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a tumour that usually presents a
short survival time from diagnosis, but in a small number of patients a
longer survival time has been observed. We have studied a series of ten
long-term and ten short-term survivors with MPM to assess whether the
MIB-1 proliferation index and the p27kip1 expression correlated with
survival. Our results show significant difference in MIB-1 and in
p27kip1 expression between the group of short and longer survival
patients. It suggests that the difference in tumour growth fractions may
express different biological behaviour and therefore indicate important
factors in MPM prognosis.
2
UI - 21256548
AU - Cappello F; Barnes L
TI -
Synovial sarcoma and malignant mesothelioma of the pleura: review,
differential diagnosis and possible role of apoptosis.
SO - Pathology 2001 May;33(2):142-8
AD - Institute of Pathological Anatomy, University of Palermo, Italy.
francapp@hotmail.com
Synovial sarcoma of the pleural cavity is exceptionally rare and may be
confused, both clinically and histologically, with malignant
mesothelioma, with subsequent inappropriate therapy. To address this
dilemma, four biphasic synovial sarcomas (BSSs) and four biphasic
malignant mesotheliomas (BMMs) were studied with a panel of mucin and
immunohistochemical stains to determine if they would allow one to
distinguish between the two. The BMMs were all pleural-based. The BSSs
were extrapleural. The mucin and immunohistochemical stains were all
performed on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue using standard
techniques, with appropriate positive and negative controls. Mucin
present in BSS is, in general, mucicarmine-positive and resistant to
both hyaluronidase and diastase. Of the immune markers evaluated, only
calretinin, Ber-Ep4 and bcl-2 were of limited discriminatory value.
Subsets of cytokeratins, CEA and CD 34 were not helpful. With the
exception of bcl-2, the apoptotic markers p53, bax and cpp32 (caspase)
also were not useful. However, when the apoptotic stains were viewed
collectively, variations in expression between the two tumours raised
the possibility that alterations in apoptotic activity might be
responsible for their pathogenesis and behavior. The diagnosis of BSS or
BMM of the pleural should be made only after total consideration of
clinical, radiological, histochemical and immunohistochemical findings.
Although mucin stains are useful in differential diagnosis, reliance
solely on immunohistochemical markers, with the possible exception of
calretinin, Ber-Ep4 and bcl-2, is not dependable. The role of apoptosis
in the pathogenesis of these tumours needs to be explored with a much
larger series.
3
UI - 21436100
AU - Emri S; Akbulut H; Zorlu F; Dincol D; Akay H; Gungen Y; Icli F
TI -
Prognostic significance of flow cytometric DNA analysis in patients with
malignant pleural mesothelioma.
SO - Lung Cancer 2001 Aug-Sep;33(2-3):109-14
AD - Department of Chest Diseases, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine,
06100 Ankara, Turkey.
Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) due to environmental exposure to
asbestos and erionite is a relatively common cancer in Turkey. In this
study, we investigated the value of flow cytometric (FCM) DNA analysis
and other prognostic factors such as age and etiologic factor in the
patients with MPM, treated with surgery+/-combination
chemotherapy+/-radiotherapy. A total of 40 patients with a median age of
50 (range 30-68) were included in the study. Twenty-nine patients had
asbestos exposure in etiology, while 11 had fibrous zeolite (erionite).
Paraffin-embedded tumor specimens were studied by FCM for DNA analysis.
Twelve patients (30%) had aneuploid tumors and 28 (70%) had diploid
ones. Mean S-phase fraction (SPF; %) was 9.1+/-1.1 and proliferation
index (PI, SPF+G2/M phase; %) was 11.3+/-0.9. While the median overall
survival (OS) was 10+/-2 months (6-14; 95% CI), 1-year survival rate was
45.2%. Only PI was found to be statistically significant for OS in
univariate analysis (P=0.013). PI was also found to be an independent
prognostic factor for all patients (P=0.035). Aneuploidy was
significantly higher in erionite group compared with asbestos group.
Male predominance and poor survival were also prominent in erionite
group, though not statistically significant. In conclusion, PI is an
independent prognostic factor for patients with MPM and the biologic
features of the disease may show differences with respect to different
etiologies.
4
UI - 21433362
AU - Yano E; Wang ZM; Wang XR; Wang MZ; Lan YJ
TI -
Cancer mortality among workers exposed to amphibole-free chrysotile
asbestos.
SO - Am J Epidemiol 2001 Sep 15;154(6):538-43
AD - Department of Hygiene and Public Health, Teikyo University School of
Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. eyano@med.teikyo-u.ac.jp
The issue of whether exposure to chrysotile asbestos alone, without
contamination from amphibole asbestos, causes lung cancer and
mesothelioma was investigated in a 25-year longitudinal study
(1972-1996) in Chongqin, China. The study cohort comprised 515 male
asbestos plant workers exposed to chrysotile only; the control cohort
included 650 non-dust-exposed workers. The results of analysis in which
the proportional hazards model was used indicated that mortality due to
all causes, all cancers, and lung cancer was related to asbestos
exposure; the relative risks, adjusted for age and smoking, were 2.9,
4.3, and 6.6, respectively. Fiber concentrations in the raw material
section and the textile section of the plant were 7.6 and 4.5 fibers/ml,
respectively. Because of differences between the study and control
plants, the authors also compared various sections of the asbestos plant
that had different levels of dust exposure. The adjusted relative risk
of lung cancer was 8.1 for workers exposed to high versus low levels of
asbestos. Two cases of malignant mesothelioma, one pleural and the other
peritoneal, were found in the asbestos cohort. These results suggest
that heavy exposure to pure chrysotile asbestos alone, with negligible
amphibole contamination, can cause lung cancer and malignant
mesothelioma in exposed workers.
5
UI - 21455249
AU - Thylen A; Hjerpe A; Martensson G
TI -
Hyaluronan content in pleural fluid as a prognostic factor in patients
with malignant pleural mesothelioma.
SO - Cancer 2001 Sep 1;92(5):1224-30
AD - Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Sahlgrenska University Hospital,
Goteborg, Sweden. gunnar.martensson@sahlgrenska.se
BACKGROUND: Regardless of the modality of therapy used, malignant
pleural mesothelioma is a highly treatment-resistant and invariably
fatal disease. Identification of prognostic variables are important for
future investigational therapeutic studies. METHODS: The prognostic
significance of various clinical variables, including hyaluronan levels
in pleural fluid, was evaluated in a retrospective analysis in 100
patients with histologically confirmed malignant pleural mesothelioma.
RESULTS: The overall median survival was 11.5 months. Univariate
analyses identified histologic subtype, i.e., epithelial or mixed, and
elevated content of hyaluronan in the pleural effusion as significant
prognostic variables. A multivariate analysis confirmed the independent
predictive power of histologic subtype, and an elevated concentration of
hyaluronan in the pleural fluid also indicated longer survival in older
patients and in patients receiving therapy other than supportive.
CONCLUSIONS: The prognostic value of histologic subtype and the
concentration of hyaluronan in pleural effusions should be considered
when designing and evaluating treatment trials for patients with
malignant pleural mesothelioma. Copyright 2001 American Cancer Society.
6
UI - 21455252
AU - Bongiovanni M; Cassoni P; De Giuli P; Viberti L; Cappia S; Ivaldi C;
TI -
Chiusa L; Bussolati G
p27(kip1) immunoreactivity correlates with long-term survival in pleural
malignant mesothelioma.
SO - Cancer 2001 Sep 1;92(5):1245-50
AD - Department of Oncology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
BACKGROUND: Pleural malignant mesothelioma (PMM) is a rare and highly
aggressive tumor, whose development is strictly related to occupational
exposure to asbestos. The prognosis of PMM is generally poor (median
survival, 4-12 months), but a few have a relatively long survival. The
objective of this study was to evaluate the use of the cell
cycle-related proteins p27(kip1) and MIB-1 as prognostic indicators of
survival in PMMs. METHODS: Of 621 PMMs, the authors selected 27 cases
with a relatively long-term survival (> 24 months) and a control group
of 36 PMMs having a shorter (usual) survival (< 24 months). RESULTS: The
expression of the p27(kip1) was significantly higher in the long-term
survival group compared with the control (short survival) group (81.41%
vs. 31.94%; P < 0.0001). The PMMs of epithelioid histotype had a
significantly higher p27(kip1) immunoreactivity compared with those of
biphasic type (59.24% vs. 38.94%; P = 0.02). In agreement with the data
in the literature, the proliferative activity (as detected by MIB-1
immunoreactivity) was significantly higher in short than long survival
PMMs (43.53% vs. 14.11%; P < 0.0001) and in the biphasic histotype than
in the epithelioid type (43.19% vs. 26.02%; P = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS: The
combined expression of high/low p27(kip1) and low/high Ki-67 values
identified with 100% specificity and sensitivity long versus short
survivors. p27(kip1) represents a reliable additional predictive factor
for PMMs and a useful marker to identify patients having a more
favorable prognosis. Copyright 2001 American Cancer Society.
7
UI - 20108485
AU - Gennaro V; Finkelstein MM; Ceppi M; Fontana V; Montanaro F; Perrotta A;
TI -
Puntoni R; Silvano S
Mesothelioma and lung tumors attributable to asbestos among petroleum
workers.
SO - Am J Ind Med 2000 Mar;37(3):275-82
AD - Environmental Epidemiology and Biostatistics, National Cancer Institute,
Genoa, Italy. gennarov@hp380.ist.unige.it
BACKGROUND: Asbestos exposure has been definitively found to be
associated with both mesothelioma and lung cancer. Nevertheless, in the
overall population of oil refinery workers potentially exposed to
asbestos, many studies clearly show a definitely increased risk of
mesothelioma, but no proven excess of lung cancer after comparison to
the general population. Through the presentation of new data and the
re-appraisal of two recent and independent epidemiological studies
conducted in Liguria, Italy, and Ontario, Canada, we attempt to shed
light on this apparently paradoxical finding. METHODS: Lung cancer
mortality was studied among maintenance workers exposed to asbestos, and
among two other subgroups of refinery employees: blue collar and white
collar workers. The comparison with blue collar workers was performed in
order to take into account the role of healthy worker effect, smoking
habit, and the socioeconomic level. The comparison with white collar
workers was performed to control for other occupational lung
carcinogens. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Results reveal a consistency
between the two studies and show that 96-100% of the mesotheliomas and
42-49% of the lung tumors arising among maintenance workers were
attributable to asbestos exposure. Our new analysis, estimating two
cases of asbestos-related lung cancer for each case of mesothelioma,
confirms published findings on the magnitude of asbestos-related tumors
in oil refineries. Copyright 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
8
UI - 21231506
AU - Bailey WJ
TI -
RE: Mesothelioma and lung tumors attributable to asbestos among
petroleum workers. Am. J. Ind. Med. 2000. 37:275-282.
SO - Am J Ind Med 2001 May;39(5):513-4, 522-3
9
UI - 21231507
AU - Tsai SP; Waddell LC Jr; Ransdell JC
TI -
RE: Mesothelioma and lung tumors attributable to asbestos among
petroleum workers. Am. J. Ind. Med. 2000. 37:275-282.
SO - Am J Ind Med 2001 May;39(5):515-21
10
UI - 21231510
AU - Ludwig ER; Madeksho L; Egilman D
TI -
RE: Mesothelioma and lung tumors attributable to asbestos among
petroleum workers. Am. J. Ind. Med. 2000. 37:275-282.
SO - Am J Ind Med 2001 May;39(5):524-7
11
UI - 21154686
AU - British Thoracic Society Standards of Care Committee
TI -
Statement on malignant mesothelioma in the United Kingdom.
SO - Thorax 2001 Apr;56(4):250-65
12
UI - 21150749
AU - Lane T
TI -
Tumour of the spermatic cord: an unusual primary manifestation of an
epithelial mesothelioma of the peritoneum with patent processus
vaginalis.
SO - BJU Int 2001 Mar;87(4):415
13
UI - 21291614
AU - Steele JP; O'Doherty CA; Shamash J; Evans MT; Gower NH; Tischkowitz MD;
TI -
Rudd RM
Phase II trial of liposomal daunorubicin in malignant pleural
mesothelioma.
SO - Ann Oncol 2001 Apr;12(4):497-9
AD - Department of Medical Oncology, St. Bartholomew's Hospital, Royal Free
and University College Medical School, London, UK.
jeremy.steele@virgin.net
BACKGROUND: To assess the response rate, toxicity and survival in
patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma treated with liposomal
daunorubicin. The study design allowed for dose escalation pending
toxicity. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Liposomal daunorubicin (DaunoXome,
Nexstar, USA) 120 mg/m2 was administered every 21 days to a maximum of 6
cycles. Patients had to have histologically-proven malignant pleural
mesothelioma. Patients were all chemotherapy-naive with ECOG performance
status 0-2. RESULTS: Fourteen patients were enrolled. There were no
objective or symptomatic responses though nine patients (64%) had stable
disease on therapy. Myelosuppression was the major toxicity with 9 of 11
patients evaluable for toxicity experiencing grade 3 or 4 neutropenia.
Other toxicities seen in at least 30% of patients included grade 3
infection and grade 2 nausea and vomiting. The median overall survival
by intention-to-treat analysis was 6.1 months from the time of first
treatment. The median duration of stable disease from time of first
treatment for patients not progressing on therapy was 5.1 months.
CONCLUSIONS: Liposomal daunorubicin 120 mg/m2 has no useful clinical
activity in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Toxicity was
substantial with most patients experiencing at least one episode of
grade 3 or 4 neutropenia. Liposomal daunorubicin cannot be recommended
for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.
14
UI - 21437043
AU - Knuuttila A; Kivisaari L; Kivisaari A; Palomaki M; Tervahartiala P;
TI -
Mattson K
Evaluation of pleural disease using MR and CT. With special reference to
malignant pleural mesothelioma.
SO - Acta Radiol 2001 Sep;42(5):502-7
AD - Department of Medicine, Division of Respiratory Disease, Helsinki
University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
PURPOSE: To evaluate MR imaging and CT in differentiating malignant
pleural mesothelioma from other malignancies or benign pleural disease.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty-four patients (18 pleural mesotheliomas, 9
other malignancies, 7 benign pleural diseases) were examined using
enhanced CT and MR. Two radiologists reviewed the CT and two others the
MR images. Comparisons were made between the diagnostic groups and the
imaging methods. RESULTS: The abnormalities commonly found in malignant
disease, but significantly less frequently in benign pleural disease,
were focal thickening and enhancement of interlobar fissures. In
mesothelioma, enhancement of interlobar fissures, tumour invasion of the
diaphragm, mediastinal soft tissue or chest wall, were significantly
more often observed than in other malignancies and MR was the most
sensitive method. In other malignancies, invasion of bony structures was
a more common finding and was also better shown by MR. The
contrast-enhanced T1 fat-suppressed (CET1fs) sequence detected these
features better than other MR sequences. CONCLUSION: MR, especially the
CET1fs sequence in three planes, gave more information than enhanced CT.
Focal thickening and enhancement of interlobar fissures were early
abnormalities indicating malignant pleural disease. MR could be
clinically useful for differentiating mesothelioma from other pleural
diseases.
15
UI - 21477321
AU - De Rienzo A; Balsara BR; Apostolou S; Jhanwar SC; Testa JR
TI -
Loss of heterozygosity analysis defines a 3-cM region of 15q commonly
deleted in human malignant mesothelioma.
SO - Oncogene 2001 Sep 27;20(43):6245-9
AD - Human Genetics Program, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA 19111,
USA.
Previous comparative genomic hybridization and allelic loss analyses
demonstrated frequent deletions from 15q11.1-15 in malignant
mesothelioma. Recurrent losses of 15q11-22 have also been reported in
several other tumor types such as breast and colorectal cancers. To more
precisely map the commonly deleted region, we have performed a high
density loss of heterozygosity analysis of 46 malignant mesotheliomas,
using 26 polymorphic microsatellite markers spanning the entire long arm
of chromosome 15. Allelic loss from 15q was observed in 22 of 46 (48%)
cases. These analyses have defined a minimally deleted region of
approximately 3-cM, which was confirmed to reside at 15q15 by
fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis with yeast artificial
chromosome probes. No tumor suppressor genes have been reported to map
to this site. The minimally deleted region identified in this
investigation overlaps those observed in other kinds of cancer, and is
the smallest site of recurrent 15q loss identified to date in human
tumors. The identification of this commonly deleted site implicates a
putative tumor suppressor gene(s) at 15q15 involved in diverse forms of
human neoplasia.
16
UI - 21441433
AU - Edwards JG; Cox G; Andi A; Jones JL; Walker RA; Waller DA; O'Byrne KJ
TI -
Angiogenesis is an independent prognostic factor in malignant
mesothelioma.
SO - Br J Cancer 2001 Sep 14;85(6):863-8
AD - University Department of Medical Oncology, Leicester Royal Infirmary,
Osborne Building, Leicester LE1 5WW, UK.
Angiogenesis is essential for tumour growth beyond 1 to 2 mm in
diameter. The clinical relevance of angiogenesis, as assessed by
microvessel density (MVD), is unclear in malignant mesothelioma (MM).
Immunohistochemistry was performed on 104 archival, paraffin-embedded,
surgically resected MM samples with an anti-CD34 monoclonal antibody,
using the Streptavidin-biotin complex immunoperoxidase technique. 93
cases were suitable for microvessel quantification. MVD was obtained
from 3 intratumoural hotspots, using a Chalkley eyepiece graticule at x
250 power. MVD was correlated with survival by Kaplan-Meier and log-rank
analysis. A stepwise, multivariate Cox model was used to compare MVD
with known prognostic factors and the EORTC and CALGB prognostic scoring
systems. Overall median survival from the date of diagnosis was 5.0
months. Increasing MVD was a poor prognostic factor in univariate
analysis (P = 0.02). Independent indicators of poor prognosis in
multivariate analysis were non-epithelial cell type (P = 0.002),
performance status > 0 (P = 0.003) and increasing MVD (P = 0.01). In
multivariate Cox analysis, MVD contributed independently to the EORTC (P
= 0.006), but not to the CALGB (P = 0.1), prognostic groups.
Angiogenesis, as assessed by MVD, is a poor prognostic factor in MM,
independent of other clinicopathological variables and the EORTC
prognostic scoring system. Further work is required to assess the
prognostic importance of angiogenic regulatory factors in this disease.
Copyright 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.com.
17
UI - 21487360
AU - Metintas M; Metintas S; Ucgun I; Gibbs AR; Harmanci E; Alatas F; Erginel
TI -
S; Tel N; Pasaoglu O
Prognostic factors in diffuse malignant pleural mesothelioma: effects of
pretreatment clinical and laboratory characteristics.
SO - Respir Med 2001 Oct;95(10):829-35
AD - Department of Chest Diseases, Osmangazi University Medical Faculty,
Eskisehir, Turkey. metintas@ada.net.tr
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of various
pretreatment clinical and laboratory characteristics on the survival of
patients with diffuse malignant pleural mesothelioma (DMPM). One hundred
histopathologically confirmed DMPM patients were evaluated. Fifty-nine
were treated with chemoimmunotherapy while 41 who had refused
chemoimmunotherapy received supportive therapy alone. The following
pretreatment characteristics were evaluated in both univariate and
multivariate Cox regression analyses: age, gender, Karnofsky performance
score (KPS), histology asbestos exposure, presence of chest pain,
dyspnoea, weight loss, symptom duration, smoking history, disease
location, platelet count, haemoglobin, white blood cell (WBC) count,
serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and extent of disease (stage).
Univariate analysis showed that patients with age > or = 75 years, male
gender, smoking history advanced stages above stage I disease, KPS < 70,
WBC count > or = 8450 and LDH level > or = 500 IU l(-1) have a worse
prognosis. With multivariate Cox regression analyses, age > or = 75
years, advanced stages above stage I disease, KPS < 70 and LDH level >
or = 500 IU l(-1) were found to be indicators of a poorer prognosis. In
conclusion, in our study each of low performance status, older age,
advanced stage disease, high LDH level and prognosis were found to be
related.
The above citations and abstracts reflect those newly added to CANCERLIT for the month and topic listed in the title. The citations have been retrieved from CANCERLIT using a predefined search strategy of indexed subject terms. Although the search strategy has been refined as best as possible, citations may appear that are not directly related to the topic, and occasionally relevant references may be omitted.
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