Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that is almost always caused by previous exposure to asbestos. In this disease, malignant cells develop in the mesothelium, a protective lining that covers most of the body's internal organs. Its most common site is the pleura (outer lining of the lungs and chest cavity), but it may also occur in the peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity) or the pericardium (a sac that surrounds the heart).

Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles, or have been exposed to asbestos dust and fibre in other ways, such as by washing the clothes of a family member who worked with asbestos, or by home renovation using asbestos cement products. Unlike lung cancer, there is no association between mesothelioma and smoking.

CYFRA 21-1

• an elevated CYFRA 21--1 level with a low CEA level is highly suggestive of mesothelioma. PMID: 11296181

IOB3

• adding the antibody IOB3 to the CEA assay should allow a reliable differentiation between mesotheliomas and carcinomas metastatic to the pleura. PMID: 7536281

Mesothelin

• a cell surface protein highly expressed in mesothelioma and ovarian cancer. PMID: 16428485

MPF (megakaryocyte potentiation factor)

• secreted by several mesothelioma cell lines and is frequently elevated in the blood of patients with mesothelioma. Measurement of MPF may be useful in following the response of mesothelioma to treatment. PMID: 16857795