UPenn Research with Mesothelioma Blood Test Shows Promise

Scientist Ian Blair at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine believes his team is close to identifying the variant of a blood-based biomarker that could diagnose asbestos disease in its earliest stages. If successful, it could clear the path to a more treatable — and potentially curable — stage of malignant mesothelioma cancer. “This could be a big deal. We’re trying to become the first,” Blair told The Mesothelioma Center at Asbestos.com. “We hope to have it within the year.” The potential breakthrough involves the HMGB1 (High-Mobility Group Box 1) chromosomal protein and its variants, which can be secreted through different pathways. Mesothelioma tumor cells secrete a form of HMGB1, which promotes an inflammatory condition and the proliferation of tumor cells. Blair’s team has developed and validated a laboratory procedure to quantify HMGB1 in plasma through high-resolution mass spectrometry. Identifying Asbestos-Related Biomarkers The key is identifying the protein variation exclusive to asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma. HMGB1 can be found in numerous diseases, some less serious than this aggressive cancer. “Two things you want: 100% specificity, so you only detect people with this disease; and 100% sensitivity, so you can detect everyone with this disease,” Blair said. “Right now, I’m very encouraged. We’re working extremely hard on this. The mood is pretty upbeat.” Blair and his team have been working on the project...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Source Type: news