Written by Chrystal Moulton, Staff Writer. Study shows B7-H1 could serve as a biomarker for early detection of malignant pleural mesothelioma.
In the current research, B7 homolog 1 also known as programmed cell death ligand 1 (PDL-1) was tested on samples of patients with mesothelioma to determine if B7 homolog 1 (B7-H1) would serve as a biomarker for early detection of malignant mesothelioma.
Samples from patients diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma between January 1987 and December 2003 were collected for examination and testing. Researchers found that 40% of malignant pleural mesothelioma patients expressed the B7-H1 ligand and a median of 35% was expressed on new tumorous growths. Furthermore, researchers noted that all sarcomatoid mesothelioma samples expressed the B7-H1 ligand. Of the 42 samples testing positive for B7-H1, only 33% (n=14) of epithelioid mesothelioma samples expressed the B7-H1 ligand compared to 64% (n=27) of sarcomatoid samples. Furthermore, survival was significantly shorter in patients expressing the B7-H1 ligand compared to those who did not (p<0.0001). Even among patients with epithelioid mesothelioma, those expressing the B7-H1 ligand survival rates were lower (negative= 14months [median]; positive= 6 months [median] p<0.1), however this was not significant. Researchers evaluated overall survival with B7-H1 expression and found that B7-H1 ligand was significantly associated with death even after adjusting for age, tissue subtype, and surgical intervention (RR=1.71, p=0.04). Also, the sarcomatoid tissue subtype of malignant mesothelioma remained a significant predictor of poor survival (RR=2.18, p<0.03).
Overall, B7-H1 could serve as a biomarker for early diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma. Researchers believe this data could also encourage further research on B7-H1 as a target for treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma, especially in those with the sarcomatoid tissue subtype of mesothelioma.
Source: Mansfield, Aaron Scott, et al. “B7-H1 expression in malignant pleural mesothelioma is associated with sarcomatoid histology and poor prognosis.” Journal of thoracic oncology 9.7 (2014): 1036-1040.
© 2014 by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer
Posted September 3, 2015.
Chrystal Moulton BA, PMP, is a 2008 graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago. She graduated with a bachelor’s in psychology with a focus on premedical studies and is a licensed project manager. She currently resides in Indianapolis, IN.
References:
- Mansfield AS, et al. B7-H1 expression in malignant pleural mesothelioma is associated with sarcomatoid histology and poor prognosis. J Thorac Oncol. 2014 Jul;9(7):1036-40.
