Simple Blood Test Identifies Cancer from Asbestos

A small protein molecule has been identified that is more prevalent in the blood of people with mesothelioma than in healthy people.

A simple blood test that accurately predicted mesothelioma would accelerate the diagnosis process and bypass the need for invasive procedures such as a tissue biopsy to make a diagnosis; as such uncertainty can delay treatment, allowing cancer to progress.

Scientists working on asbestos cancer at Concord Hospital (Sydney, Australia) studied five patients with pleural mesothelioma and three healthy patients to explore whether micro ribonucleic acids (microRNAs) could serve as markers for the cancer. They identified 17 microRNAs that appeared in significantly different levels in the blood of healthy patients and mesothelioma patients.

They found that the levels of a particular microRNA, identified as miR-625-3p, were four-fold higher in the blood of mesothelioma patients. The scientists then took blood samples from 23 patients including 15 patients with mesothelioma and measured the levels of particular microRNA. Based on the blood tests, they were able to predict with 82% accuracy which patients had mesothelioma.

MicroRNAs appear to serve an important role in reprogramming a cell to undergo uncontrolled cell division, causing growth of cancerous tumors. They offer potential as cancer markers because they exhibit properties identifiable with specific types of tumors. A number of proteins have been studied as potential red flags indicating the presence of mesothelioma. But none has demonstrated the level of reliability required for routine clinical use by doctors treating patients.

Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the lung and abdomen caused by inhaling asbestos fibers. Approximately, 2,500 to 3,000 people are diagnosed with the mesothelioma each year in the United States. Many are older workers, retirees, and veterans who were exposed to asbestos in a workplace decades ago. The diagnosis of mesothelioma often comes late after the aggressive cancer is advanced and treatment options are limited.

Michaela B. Kirschner PhD, of Asbestos Diseases Research at Concord Hospital said, “Should further studies prove that microRNAs in plasma are accurate enough for the diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma, this will lead to the development of a diagnostic test for routine clinical use. This test would then represent a relatively simple way to circumvent the problems associated with obtaining a tissue biopsy. For a patient this would mean that appropriate treatment could be instituted at an earlier stage.” The study was presented at the 3rd European Lung Cancer Conference held April 18-21, 2012 in Geneva (Switzerland).

Related Links:
Concord Hospital Asbestos Diseases Research