Park Eun-Kee, Johnson Anthony R, Wilson Donald, Thomas Paul S, Yates Deborah H
Department of Medical Humanities and Social Medicine, College of Medicine, Kosin University, Busan, Republic of Korea.
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Liverpool Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Saf Health Work. 2020 Dec;11(4):425-430. doi: 10.1016/j.shaw.2020.07.009. Epub 2020 Aug 3.
Asbestos exposure is associated with the development of the cancer malignant mesothelioma (MM). Measurement of soluble mesothelin-related protein (SMRP) has been suggested as a method for detection of MM in its early stages. We prospectively examined SMRP levels in participants with asbestos exposure who are a group at a high risk of development of MM.
This study was a follow-up of our cohort of 322 asbestos-exposed participants. No further participants developed MM or malignancy over the study period. Mean follow-up time was 22.9 months.
Mean (standard deviation) SMRP levels at baseline and follow-up were 0.94 (0.79) and 0.91 (0.86) nmol/L ( = 0.1033), respectively. Mean SMRP levels of the healthy individuals exposed to asbestos at baseline was significantly lower than those of participants with asbestosis and pleural plaques alone; similar patterns were found on follow-up measurements. There was a statistically significant effect of age on serial SMRP measurements. Our study confirms higher levels in participants with nonmalignant asbestos-related disorders. Levels decreased in asbestos-related disorders other than asbestosis, where a small increase was observed. We did not detect any further cases of malignancy.
Monitoring programs for early detection of MM need to take into account increased SMRP levels found in benign asbestos-related diseases.
石棉暴露与恶性间皮瘤（MM）的发生有关。可溶性间皮素相关蛋白（SMRP）的检测被认为是早期检测MM的一种方法。我们前瞻性地检测了有石棉暴露的参与者的SMRP水平，这些参与者是发生MM的高危人群。
本研究是对322名有石棉暴露的参与者队列的随访。在研究期间，没有进一步的参与者发生MM或恶性肿瘤。平均随访时间为22.9个月。
基线和随访时的平均（标准差）SMRP水平分别为0.94（0.79）和0.91（0.86）nmol/L（P = 0.1033）。基线时暴露于石棉的健康个体的平均SMRP水平显著低于仅患有石棉肺和胸膜斑的参与者；随访测量时也发现了类似的模式。年龄对系列SMRP测量有统计学显著影响。我们的研究证实，患有非恶性石棉相关疾病的参与者的SMRP水平较高。除石棉肺外，其他石棉相关疾病的水平下降，但有小幅上升。我们未检测到任何进一步的恶性肿瘤病例。
MM早期检测的监测计划需要考虑到在良性石棉相关疾病中发现的SMRP水平升高。
