Diagnosis and Biomarkers for Mesothelioma Flashcards
7 cards from real Mesothelioma Therapy practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
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Which serum biomarker is most widely studied and used to monitor mesothelioma disease progression and treatment response?
Answer: Soluble mesothelin-related peptides (SMRP)
Soluble mesothelin-related peptides (SMRP), measured by the FDA-cleared Mesomark assay, are the most widely studied serum biomarker for monitoring disease activity and treatment response in mesothelioma.
Approximately what is the sensitivity of serum soluble mesothelin-related peptides (SMRP) for diagnosing mesothelioma?
Answer: Approximately 50-70%
Serum SMRP has a sensitivity of approximately 50-70% for mesothelioma, meaning it misses a substantial proportion of cases and cannot serve as a standalone diagnostic test.
Which biomarker has been found elevated in both plasma and pleural fluid of mesothelioma patients and proposed as an additional diagnostic marker?
Answer: Fibulin-3
Fibulin-3, an extracellular matrix glycoprotein, has been found elevated in both plasma and pleural fluid of mesothelioma patients, though it is not yet FDA-approved as a standalone diagnostic biomarker.
Why is BAP1 (BRCA1-associated protein 1) immunohistochemical testing clinically important in mesothelioma pathology?
Answer: Loss of BAP1 nuclear expression supports malignant mesothelioma over reactive mesothelial hyperplasia
Loss of BAP1 nuclear expression detected by immunohistochemistry is a highly specific marker supporting malignant mesothelioma over benign reactive mesothelial proliferation, aiding in a diagnostically challenging distinction.
What is the diagnostic significance of homozygous deletion of CDKN2A (p16) detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in pleural specimens?
Answer: It supports malignant mesothelioma over reactive mesothelial hyperplasia as a highly specific chromosomal marker
Homozygous deletion of CDKN2A (p16) detected by FISH is a highly specific finding that strongly supports malignant mesothelioma over reactive mesothelial proliferation when tissue diagnosis is equivocal.
Which molecular testing approach has become increasingly important in mesothelioma to identify therapeutic targets and guide treatment?
Answer: Next-generation sequencing (NGS) for BAP1, NF2, and other recurrent tumor suppressor mutations
Next-generation sequencing revealing recurrent mutations in tumor suppressor genes such as BAP1, NF2, SETD2, and LATS1/2 provides molecular profiling that may identify actionable targets and inform clinical trial eligibility.
What is the therapeutic relevance of detecting NF2 (neurofibromatosis type 2) gene mutations in mesothelioma?
Answer: NF2 loss activates focal adhesion kinase (FAK) signaling, making these tumors potential candidates for FAK inhibitor therapy under investigation
Loss of NF2 function in mesothelioma upregulates FAK signaling, and FAK inhibitors are being investigated in clinical trials as a targeted therapeutic strategy for NF2-deficient mesothelioma.