Mesothelioma Researchers Study Another Biological Marker and Its Role in Patient Prognosis
French researchers have found another biological marker associated with the prognosis of malignant mesothelioma. Identifying this prognostic marker and investigating it further could lead to a better understanding of mesothelioma prognosis factors and what they mean for mesothelioma patients.
The biological marker is neurotensin (NTS) and its cognate receptor (NTSR1). Neurotensin is neuropeptide, a small protein-like molecule used by neurons. Neurotensin is made up of 13 amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) and has been associated with colon, prostate, pancreas and breast cancer. The cognate receptor NTSR1 is a gene that provides the genetic coding for the receptor molecule that binds to NTS. The study notes that “NTS is associated with a number of deleterious functions promoting cancer progression,” which is why the compound should be studied for its effect on patient prognosis.
The study followed 52 patients with epithelioid malignant mesothelioma undergoing treatment with curative intent. Using immunohistochemistry (the study of diseased cells using chemical staining to identify biological markers), all 52 patients were studied for the presence of neurotensin and NTSR1. This data was compared with survival rates and prognostic relationships were analyzed.
Researchers reported that “Immunohistochemistry revealed that NTS and NTSR1 expression was found in 71.1% and 90.4% of malignant mesotheliomas, respectively. Using univariate analysis, expression of NTS was significantly related with a poor prognosis.” Expression of NTSR1, however, had no impact on survival in the participating mesothelioma patients.
Participants with less than 10% NTS expression experienced the highest survival rates, with median survival rate at 29.8 months. Patients with 10-50% NTS expression experienced median survival rates at 18.4 months, and those with more than 50% NTS expression had a median survival rate of 11 months. Thus, an increased level of NTS expression was highly associated with poor prognosis.
The patients with no NTS expression experienced a five-year survival rate of 33.3%, a very promising statistic considering the average five-year survival rate for mesothelioma is less than 10 percent.
The study also observed the effects of inhibiting NTS expression in mesothelioma cell lines in a test tube (effectively simulating the suppression of NTS) and this resulted in a significant reduction of cancer migration and collagen invasion. These results suggest that suppressing NTS in mesothelioma patients could reduce collagen invasion and spread of the cancer.
Researchers concluded, “Our clinical and experimental data suggests that the NTS/NTSR1 complex is not only a potential marker of negative prognosis, but also a putative mediator of disease progression. Thus it should be a good candidate for the development of specifically targeted drugs, to be used together with currently available treatments.”
Additional information on mesothelioma and prognosis may be found through the Mesothelioma Center.
