Pleural-fluid mesothelin outperformed cytology for diagnosis and exclusion of mesothelioma, British investigators reported.
Patients with mesothelioma had pleural-fluid mesothelin concentrations seven to 12 times higher than those in patients with metastatic cancers and benign pleural effusions (P<0.0001).
Compared with cytology, pleural-fluid mesothelin had better sensitivity, similar specificity, and superior negative predictive value, investigators concluded in the Sept. 1 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
"Pleural effusion ... can be maddeningly difficult to diagnose, as a wide variety of malignant and benign causes exist," lead author Helen E. Davies, MD, of Oxford University, noted in a statement. "One of the causes, malignant pleural mesothelioma, is a relatively rare cancer, but its incidence is rapidly increasing on a global scale."
Mesothelioma is most frequently attributed to exposure to asbestos.
Source
Patients with mesothelioma had pleural-fluid mesothelin concentrations seven to 12 times higher than those in patients with metastatic cancers and benign pleural effusions (P<0.0001).
Compared with cytology, pleural-fluid mesothelin had better sensitivity, similar specificity, and superior negative predictive value, investigators concluded in the Sept. 1 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
"Pleural effusion ... can be maddeningly difficult to diagnose, as a wide variety of malignant and benign causes exist," lead author Helen E. Davies, MD, of Oxford University, noted in a statement. "One of the causes, malignant pleural mesothelioma, is a relatively rare cancer, but its incidence is rapidly increasing on a global scale."
Mesothelioma is most frequently attributed to exposure to asbestos.
Source
Comments