Homozygous deletion of CDKN2A in malignant mesothelioma: Diagnostic utility, patient characteristics and survival in a UK mesothelioma centre

Lung Cancer 2020 November 5 [Link] Kelly Marshall, Susan Jackson, Jennifer Jones, Jayne Holme, Judith Lyons, Emma Barrett, Paul Taylor, Paul Bishop, Clare Hodgson, Michael Green, Nicholas Telford, Matthew Evison Abstract Background: Detection of homozygous deletion of the p16 gene (CDKN2A) by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) has been investigated as an ancillary technique in…

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Identification of a Five-Gene Signature for Predicting Survival in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Patients

Frontiers in Genetics 2020 August 7 [Link] Yiyang Bai, Xiao Wang, Jia Hou, Luying Geng, Xuan Liang, Zhiping Ruan, Hui Guo, Kejun Nan, Lili Jiang Abstract Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), predominantly caused by asbestos exposure, is a highly aggressive cancer with poor prognosis. The staging systems currently used in clinics is inadequate in evaluating the…

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Brief Report: Novel Germline Mutations in DNA Damage Repair in Patients with Malignant Pleural Mesotheliomas.

Journal of Thoracic Oncology 2019 December 27 [Link] Guo R, DuBoff M, Jayakumaran G, Kris MG, Ladanyi M, Robson ME, Mandelker D, Zauderer MG Abstract INTRODUCTION: Although next-generation sequencing (NGS) has brought insight into critical mutations or pathways (e.g. DNA damage sensing and repair) involved in the etiology of many cancers and directed new screening,…

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First-ever Abscopal Effect after Palliative Radiotherapy and Immuno-gene Therapy for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma.

Cureus 2019 February 20 [Link] Barsky AR, Cengel KA, Katz SI, Sterman DH, Simone CB Abstract Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a highly aggressive disease, with few, if any, curative interventions. While there is growing interest in using immunotherapy and immuno-gene therapy to treat MPM, very limited data currently exist for combining these modalities with…

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Involvement of Heparanase in the Pathogenesis of Mesothelioma: Basic Aspects and Clinical Applications

Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2018 March 21 [Epub ahead of print] [Link] Barash U Abstract BACKGROUND: Mammalian cells express a single functional heparanase, an endoglycosidase that cleaves heparan sulfate and thereby promotes tumor metastasis, angiogenesis, and inflammation. Malignant mesothelioma is highly aggressive and has a poor prognosis because of the lack of markers…

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Large-scale copy number analysis reveals variations in genes not previously associated with malignant pleural mesothelioma

Oncotarget 2017 December Link] Hylebos M, Van Camp G, Vandeweyer G, Fransen E, Beyens M, Cornelissen R, Suls A, Pauwels P, van Meerbeeck JP, Op de Beeck K Abstract Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive tumor that is often causally associated with asbestos exposure. Comparative genomic hybridization techniques and arrays demonstrated a complex set…

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Germline and somatic variant identification using BGISEQ-500 and HiSeq X Ten whole genome sequencing

PloS one 2018 January [Link] Patch AM et. al. Abstract Technological innovation and increased affordability have contributed to the widespread adoption of genome sequencing technologies in biomedical research. In particular large cancer research consortia have embraced next generation sequencing, and have used the technology to define the somatic mutation landscape of multiple cancer types. These…

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A genetic variant of NLRP1 gene is associated with asbestos body burden in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma

Journal of Toxicology 2017 December [Epub ahead of print] [Link] Crovella S. et.al. Abstract The presence of asbestos bodies (ABs) in lung parenchyma is considered a histopathologic hallmark of past exposure to asbestos fibers, of which there was a population of longer fibers. The mechanisms underlying AB formation are complex, involving inflammatory responses and iron…

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