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NCI CANCERLIT^® Search: Malignant Mesothelioma - February 2002

National Cancer Institute^®
Last Modified: February 1, 2002

Eve of the third millennium, providing an update on the management of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

[Multi-targeted antifolate therapy roe non-small cell lung cancer and mesothelioma]

Additional proteins in BAL fluid of Metsovites environmentally exposed to asbestos: more evidence of "protection" against neoplasia?

[Results of phase II clinical trial of cycloplatam in refractory solid tumors]

[Pleural mesothelioma. I: History, epidemiology, clinical aspects (symptoms, diagnosis)]

[Return of immigrants: a cluster analysis of mesotheliomas among residents of the Veneto region who used to work at the ETERNIT AG

The expression of P-glycoprotein and multidrug resistance proteins 1 and 2 (MRP1 and MRP2) in human malignant mesothelioma.

The presence of simian-virus 40 sequences in mesothelioma and mesothelial cells is associated with high levels of vascular endothelial

Retinoic acid inhibits fibronectin and laminin synthesis and cell migration of human pleural mesothelioma in vitro.

Table of Contents

1
UI - 11556248
AU - Le Chevalier T
TI - Eve of the third millennium, providing an update on the management of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
SO - Anticancer Drugs 2001 Jul;12 Suppl 3():S1

2
UI - 11556250
AU - Le Chevallier T
TI - [Multi-targeted antifolate therapy roe non-small cell lung cancer and mesothelioma]
SO - Anticancer Drugs 2001 Jul;12 Suppl 3():S21-T5
AD - Institut Gustave Roussy, 94800 Villejuif, France. tle-che@igr.fr
Multi-targeted antifolate (MTA) is an anti-metabolite with useful activity in the treatment of non-operable patients presenting with non-small cell lung cancer. Its good efficacy and tolerability profile as first-line therapy was demonstrated in phase II studies of MTA as monotherapy. The use of MTA as second-line therapy with or without a platinum analog also provides good results. It should be observed that, in combination with cisplatin (C), docetaxel or gemcitabine (G), MTA presents synergistic efficacy: two phase II protocols have shown that the MTA/C combination as first-line therapy presented high efficacy (objective response: 39-45%) and low toxicity. These results are promising and also seem to be observed in an ongoing phase II study evaluating MTA/G. In the treatment of mesothelioma, promising activity was observed for the MTA/C combination, and this activity is under evaluation in ongoing phase II and phase III studies.

3
UI - 11796462
AU - Galani V; Constantopoulos S; Manda-Stachouli C; Frangou-Lazaridis M;
TI - Mavridis A; Vassiliou M; Dalavanga Y Additional proteins in BAL fluid of Metsovites environmentally exposed to asbestos: more evidence of "protection" against neoplasia?
SO - Chest 2002 Jan;121(1):273-8
AD - Department of Pneumonology, University of Ioannina, Medical School, Ioannina, Greece.
INTRODUCTION: Inhabitants of Metsovo in northwest Greece have been exposed to asbestos from use of a tremolite-containing whitewash ("luto" soil). As a result, they have increased incidence of malignant pleural mesothelioma and pleural calcifications (PCs). However, subjects with calcifications have a much lower incidence of mesothelioma than those without. A previous study of the two groups with BAL revealed higher proportional lymphocytosis among subjects with calcifications. We suggested that BAL lymphocytosis may be somehow correlated with "protection" against neoplasia. METHODS: The present report is a study of the liquid phase of BAL in the two groups. BAL specimens of 43 Metsovites (13 subjects with PCs and 30 subjects without PCs) and two control groups were examined. We measured total protein, albumin, IgG, IgA, and interleukin-6. Proteins were analyzed with sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and two-dimensional electrophoresis and further characterized using an appropriate computer program. RESULTS: The most interesting finding was the presence of two additional protein spots corresponding to the electrophoretic site of Ig heavy chain and C(4) component of complement. The two proteins were present in all Metsovites with PCs but in none without PCs and also in none of the control groups. CONCLUSION: This study further separates two groups of Metsovites with different reaction to asbestos, possibly as a result of different activation of alveolar macrophages. This difference leads the first group to the formation of PCs, BAL fluid lymphocytosis, and relative "protection" against malignancy, and the second group to no calcifications, no lymphocytosis, but also no protection against malignancy.

4
UI - 11826504
AU - Bagrova SG
TI - [Results of phase II clinical trial of cycloplatam in refractory solid tumors]
SO - Vopr Onkol 2001;47(6):752-6
AD - N.N. Blokhin Center for Oncology Research, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow.
Cycloplatam, a new platinum derivative, evolved at N.S. Kurnakov Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry in 1982, has been added to the arsenal of Russian cytostatic drugs. Having passed phase I trials, it was approved for treatment of pleural mesothelioma, ovarian carcinoma and multiple myeloma. Leukothrombocytopenia formation indicates toxicity-related limit of dosage. Phase II clinical trials are under way at the Center. They include treatment of solid tumors with cycloplatam alone in urinary bladder tumors, cervical carcinoma and malignant pleurites of various etiology as well as in combination with other cytostatics (carcinoma of the prostate, pleural mesothelioma and urinary bladder tumors). The drug may be recommended both for oral and intracavitary administration; side-effects may include moderate toxicity, chiefly, hematological one.

5
UI - 11785373
AU - Neumeister W; Gillissen A; Rasche K; Muller KM; Schultze-Werninghaus G
TI - [Pleural mesothelioma. I: History, epidemiology, clinical aspects (symptoms, diagnosis)]
SO - Med Klin 2001 Dec 15;96(12):722-9
AD - Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik, Abteilung fur Pneumologie, Allergologie und Schlafmedizin, Ruhr-Universitat Bochum. w.neumeister@kk-koblenz.de
EPIDEMIOLOGY: Although production and processing of asbestos have been prohibited for years, the incidence of mesothelioma of the pleura will rise in Western Europe. The incidence of mesothelioma will peak between the years 2010 and 2020. It will cause an estimated 250,000 deaths within the next 35 years. PATHOGENESIS: The fact that exposure to asbestos fibers may result in mesothelioma was first described in 1960. The risk of developing mesothelioma depends mainly on the type of asbestos fibers and the way asbestos is manufactured. Environmental eronite fibers in Central Turkey are the cause of endemic mesothelioma. The pathogenetic role of infection with simian virus 40 is still not determined. Thoracic radiation is of minor importance in the etiology of pleural mesothelioma. DIAGNOSIS: Between first symptoms of disease and diagnosis of mesothelioma often more than 6 months pass as clinical symptoms are rarely typical. Detection of early stages by invasive procedures and imaging is often very difficult. Histopathological distinction between adenocarcinoma and mesothelioma requires experienced pathologists. This implies that management of mesothelioma should only be performed in multidisciplinary cooperation in specialized centers.

6
UI - 11789455
AU - Merler E; Gioffre F; Mabilia T; De Marzio N; Bizzotto R; Sarto F; Zambon
TI - P [Return of immigrants: a cluster analysis of mesotheliomas among residents of the Veneto region who used to work at the ETERNIT AG factory at Niederurnen, Switzerland]
SO - Epidemiol Prev 2001 Jul-Oct;25(4-5):161-3
AD - Servizio di prevenzione Igiene e sicurezza nei luoghi lavoro, ULSS 16, Padova.
We identified 5 mesotheliomas among Italian migrant workers who returned home and settled in the Veneto Region, after employment at the ETERNIT AG factory in Switzerland. During the 1970s the factory employed about 1000 workers and the presence of Italian migrants was relevant. The cluster confirms that migration for work has caused exposures to carcinogenic substances and confirms that neoplastic diseases are occurring among those resettled in Italy and helps explaining the high occurrence of mesotheliomas in this country.

7
UI - 11697834
AU - Soini Y; Jarvinen K; Kaarteenaho-Wiik R; Kinnula V
TI - The expression of P-glycoprotein and multidrug resistance proteins 1 and 2 (MRP1 and MRP2) in human malignant mesothelioma.
SO - Ann Oncol 2001 Sep;12(9):1239-45
AD - Department of Pathology, University of Oulu, Finland. ylermi.soini@ppshp.fi
BACKGROUND: Malignant mesothelioma is a malignancy with a primary resistance to chemo- and radiotherapies for reasons which are still unclear. Multidrug resistance proteins might explain the observed resistance, but no studies have assessed their expression in mesothelioma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Immunohistochemical expression of P-glycoprotein (P-gp), and the multidrug resistance proteins 1 and 2 (MRP1 and MRP2) were investigated in 36 cases of malignant mesothelioma and in samples from normal mesothelium. RESULTS: P-gp immunopositivity was found in 61%, MRP1 immunopositivity in 58% and MRP2 positivity in 33% of the cases. Normal mesothelium did not express these multidrug-resistant proteins. There was a significant association between P-gp and MRP2 (P = 0.022) expression. No or weak P-gp, MRP1 or MRP2 immunostaining was significantly more frequent in sarcomatoid mesothelimas than in epithelial or biphasic mesotheliomas (P = 0.031, P = 0.034 and P = 0.024, respectively). There was no significant association between patient survival and expression of the multidrug-resistant proteins. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that P-gp, MRP1 and MRP2 are induced and expressed in malignant mesothelial cells. Regardless of their expression no association with survival of the patients was seen, suggesting that the primary resistance of malignant mesotheliomas is not solely dependent on their expression or function.

8
UI - 11804869
AU - Cacciotti P; Strizzi L; Vianale G; Iaccheri L; Libener R; Porta C;
TI - Tognon M; Gaudino G; Mutti L The presence of simian-virus 40 sequences in mesothelioma and mesothelial cells is associated with high levels of vascular endothelial growth factor.
SO - Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 2002 Feb;26(2):189-93
AD - Department of Medical Sciences, University of Piemonte Orientale A. Avogadro, Novara, Italy.
The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the presence of simian virus-40 (SV40) is associated with increased release of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in human malignant mesothelioma (MM) cells. We studied nine cell lines derived from pleural effusion (PE) of patients with MM, and three different cultures of normal human mesothelial cells (NHMC) derived from pleural fluid of patients with congestive heart failure. NHMC were transfected with full length SV40 (NHMC-FL) or large T antigen (NHMC Tag) DNAs. High levels of VEGF were detected in conditioned media of each of two MM cells that tested positive for SV40 by PCR amplification and Southern blot hybridization and for Tag transcript by reverse transcription- polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunoprecipitation. We also found that NHMC-FL released high amounts of VEGF. Conditioned media from SV40-positive MM cells and from FL-NHMC increased proliferation of human umbilical vein cells (HUVEC) and this effect was partially abrogated by adding specific blocking antibodies against VEGF. These results offer the first evidence that SV40 can cause VEGF release in SV40-positive MM cells and that entire viral genome is required for this effect.

9
UI - 11748484
AU - Scarpa S; Giuffrida A; Palumbo C; Coletti A; Cerrito MG; Vasaturo F;
TI - Sinibaldi P; Simonelli L; Procopio A; Modesti A Retinoic acid inhibits fibronectin and laminin synthesis and cell migration of human pleural mesothelioma in vitro.
SO - Oncol Rep 2002 Jan-Feb;9(1):205-9
AD - Dipartimento Medicina Sperimentale e Patologia, I-00161 Roma, Italy. Susanna.Scarpa@uniroma1.it
The effects of retinoic acid (RA) on cell replication, fibronectin and laminin synthesis, integrin expression and haptotactic migration of three mesothelioma cell cultures of different histotype, one epithelioid, one fibromatous and one biphasic, were evaluated. Cell growth was not affected by RA, while RA treatment decreased the synthesis of fibronectin and laminin and inhibited the migration of all three mesotheliomas on substrates of fibronectin and laminin; on the contrary, the expression of some integrins was not significantly modified by RA. These data indicate that RA may lead to a decrease of mesothelioma cell local invasion; this can correlate with a modification induced by RA on mesothelioma tumor progression in vivo.

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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