Levels of Osteopontin to Help Diagnose Patients with Early Stages of Mesothelioma

Specialists from several medical research facilities have identified that serum osteopontin levels can help diagnose people exposed to asbestos that may or may not have mesothelioma. Detailed information about this study is provided in the October 13, 2005 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
The primary cause of mesothelioma, a rare but deadly cancer, is exposure to asbestos.
Between 2000 and 3000 new cases are reported in the United States every year, which is an increase compared to previous years. The urgency to fight the deadly disease has prompted researchers to conduct more clinical trials aimed at finding the cure. In England alone, the number of mesothelioma-related deaths is expected to top 3000 by the year 2020. Since almost all cases of mesothelioma are related to the patients’ exposure to asbestos, it is projected that the peak in mesothelioma cases will not be seen until next decade.
Mesothelioma is typically detected as pleural nodules or diffuse involvement of the pleura. However, in some cases it occurs in the abdomen. The most effective treatment for mesothelioma so far has been surgery, however, due to the seriousness of the disease and the rate at which it spreads, it is often much too late even for surgery to have a positive outcome. Close to 70% of all cases of mesothelioma are too advanced at the time of diagnosis and are fatal. Therefore, any test that would allow doctors to diagnose mesotheloma at its early stages would greatly increase the survival rate of patients. A study conducted recently suggested that by measuring mesothelin-related proteins doctors would be able to differentiate between mesothelioma and benign conditions in patients exposed to asbestos. A new study measured the levels of osteopontin, which is over-expressed in lung, gastric, ovarian, breast, and colorectal cancer.
Specialists conducting the study examined 69 patients with benign disease and 76 patients with pleural mesothelioma by measuring their serum osteopontin levels. It was detected that levels of osteopontin were highly elevated in patients with pulmonary plaques and fibrosis but not in those who had normal X-rays. Additionally, levels of osteopontin were elevated in patients with pleural mesothelioma, but not those exposed to asbestos without contracting the disease. Based on these results, most mesothelioma cases would be detected at the first stage of the disease, when it is still treatable.