Serum oncoproteins and growth factors in asbestosis and silicosis patients

✍ Scribed by Paul W. Brandt-Rauf; Steven Smith; Kari Hemminki; Heikki Koskinen; Harri Vainio; Henry Niman; Jean Ford

• Book ID: 102864268
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1992
• Tongue: French
• Weight: 638 KB
• Volume: 50
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0020-7136
• DOI: 10.1002/ijc.2910500610

✦ Synopsis

Levels

of 9 different oncoproteins and growth factors were assayed by immunoblotting with monoclonal antibodies in 9 I serum samples collected between March I983 and August I987 from 46 pneumoconiosis patients (36 asbestosis, I0 silicosis) at high risk for the development of cancer. Follow-up of these patients through June 1991 showed that 18 had developed cancer (I I lung, 2 pleural mesothelioma, 2 transitional-cell carcinomas of the urinary bladder, I osteosarcoma, I non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, I adenocarcinoma of the gallbladder). Increased serum levels of ras oncogene-related protein (p2 I) were found in 7 of the I 8 patients who developed cancer (5 lung, 2 pleural mesothelioma) versus 2 of the 28 patients without cancer, a statistically significant difference (p = 0.0 12). In addition, 6 of the 7 p2 I -positive cancer cases had positive serum samples prior to clinical diagnosis of disease (average = 16.3 months, range = 3-26 months prior to diagnosis), suggesting that elevated serum p2I levels may be a useful marker for earlier detection in a significant percentage of respitatmy malignancies. Finally. elevated serum levels of PDGF-related protein were detected significantly more frequently in advanced pneumoconiosis cases (ILO radiographic classification of 2/ I or greater) than in less advanced cases (60% vs. 4 1.9%; p = 0.016), and there a tendency for these PDGF-positive patients to have progression of their disease (68.2% vs. 4 I .7%; p = 0.065), suggesting that elevated serum PDGF levels may be a marker for the development of severe and progressive pneumoconioses.

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