Is soluble mesothelin-related protein an upfront predictive marker of pleural mesothelioma? A prospective study on Italian workers exposed to asbestos.

Objective: Soluble mesothelin-related peptide (SMRP) may be useful in the diagnosis and detection of early stage mesothelioma. We investigated the SMRP upfront predictive role for mesothelioma in asbestos-exposed workers.

Methods: A total of 1,715 subjects underwent a first visit and were invited for a follow-up after 1 and 2 years, with a clinical examination and blood sampling.

Individual predictors of increased serum mesothelin in asbestos-exposed workers.

The soluble mesothelin-related peptide (SMRP), a candidate marker for screening of subjects with asbestos exposure, is influenced by some individual and clinical factors. The aim of this study was to quantify the role of age, smoking, weight, presence of diseases and exposure to asbestos on serum SMRP levels in a large series of subjects exposed to asbestos, possible candidates for mesothelioma screening. One thousand seven hundred and four participants underwent clinical examination and were interviewed on medical anamnesis, occupation, smoking and weight.

Exposure to asbestos: correlation between blood levels of mesothelin and frequency of micronuclei in peripheral blood lymphocytes.

Inhalation of asbestos, a mineral extensively used in a variety of applications, is strongly associated with malignant mesothelioma (MM), a fatal cancer of the pleura. Soluble mesothelin-related peptides (SMRP) are a promising biomarker suggested for the screening of MM in healthy asbestos-exposed subjects. In the present study a comparison of micronucleus (Mn) frequencies in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) between 44 asbestos-exposed and 22 control individuals has been performed, and the correlation with serum SMRP has been examined.

Toxicological studies on halopredone acetate.

A toxicological study of 17,21-bis(acetyloxy)-2-bromo-6beta,9-difluoro-11beta-hydroxypregna-1,4-dien-3,20-dione(halopredone acetate; Topicon), a new topical antiinflammatory steroid, administered a laboratory animals, was carried out in order to evaluate the safety of this compound. Halopredone acetate compared favorably with either hydrocortisone acetate or potent synthetic corticoids in acute and subacute toxicity studies in mice and rats. This compound did not induce gastric ulcers in rats after repeated administration and did not have any teratogenic effect in rats and rabbits.