Managing Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma in the Age of Personalized Medicine: Where Are We and What Is Still Missing?

Our plain-English summary of Managing Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma in the Age of Personalized Medicine: Where Are We and What Is Still Missing?, by G.M. Stella, C. Bortolotto (Cancers, 2022).

The study

• Authors: G.M. Stella, C. Bortolotto
• Journal: Cancers
• Published: 2022;14(22)
• Type of article: Editorial
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Malignant Mesothelioma (MM) is an aggressive neoplasm of the pleural mesothelium, less frequently peritoneal and exceptionally of the vaginal tunic of the testicle and pericardium [...].

In plain English

This was a short editorial, not a research study. Two authors wrote it to introduce a Special Issue of the journal Cancers on malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), and it reported no new data of its own. As background, the authors stated that asbestos is the main cause of the disease. They wrote that occupational exposure can be documented in 70–80% of affected patients, and that MPM incidence in European countries is around 1.1–1.25 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The editorial then briefly described other articles in the issue. These covered laboratory mouse models grown from patients' tumors, genetic changes such as loss-of-function mutations in the NF2 gene, the role of hyaluronic acid, immunotherapy approaches, and CT and magnetic resonance imaging. The authors wrote that all efforts to make an early diagnosis in exposed populations have failed so far. They called for combining tumor gene-activity profiles with data on genetic susceptibility to design screening programs among asbestos-exposed populations. The authors concluded that multidisciplinary management is appropriate at every step of patient care, from diagnosis onward.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Editorial introducing a journal Special Issue; no original data
• Who was studied: No study population. The editorial introduced and briefly described articles in a Special Issue of Cancers on malignant pleural mesothelioma (patient-derived mouse models, loss-of-function mutations in NF2 and the Hippo-YAP pathway, hyaluronic acid, immunotherapy, DNA damage tolerance, microRNA, CT and MR imaging)
• Exposure: No exposure was studied. The editorial stated, as background, that asbestos is the main cause of mesothelioma
• Main results:
  • Background statement by the authors, not a finding of this article and with no source cited: occupational exposure can be documented in 70–80% of affected patients
  • Background statement by the authors, with no source cited: in European countries, MPM incidence is around 1.1–1.25 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants
  • The authors stated that all efforts to make an early diagnosis in exposed populations have failed so far
  • The authors called for integrating transcriptome profiles and genetic susceptibility data to design screening programs among asbestos-exposed populations
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that multidisciplinary management of this rare disease is appropriate during all steps of patient management, from diagnosis to treatment to a personalized therapeutic program

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Pleural Mesothelioma, Mesothelioma, Neoplasm, Mesothelium, Pericardium.

Related studies

• Surgical Strategy for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: Where Are We Going and What Are We Missing? — F. Lococo, M. Paci, et al. (2015)
• Proteomics, Personalized Medicine and Cancer — M. Su, Z. Zhang, et al. (2021)
• Molecular profiling and personalized medicine within EURACAN in the SPECTA Arcagen study in comparison to the France Genomic Medicine 2025 Plan in the AURAGEN platform in peritoneal mesotheliomas — S. Momenkhan, M. Morfouace, et al. (2026)
• Organoids as a Model for Precision Medicine in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: Where Are We Today? — Y. Gao, M. Kruithof-de Julio, et al. (2022)
• The Rochdale asbestos cancer studies and the politics of epidemiology: what you see depends on where you sit — G. Tweedale (2007)
• Screening for lung cancer in a high-risk group: but I still haven't found what I'm looking for — G.A. Silvestri (2007)

Browse more research in Cancers, or return to medical research.