Pass H I
Thoracic Oncology Section, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
Chest Surg Clin N Am. 1994 Aug;4(3):497-515.
The cellular and molecular biology of mesothelioma is a complicated, multifactorial, incompletely understood process of carcinogenesis. Normal mesothelial cells can be transformed into a malignant phenotype by multiple factors, usually asbestos. Several tumor suppressor genes may be lost, and several oncogenes can be activated. A local environment of inflammation with associated release of cytokines may promote deregulated cell growth. The release of immunosuppressive substances such as nitric oxide may contribute to this process. The interaction of asbestos and viral DNA incorporation is unclear but warrants further investigation. In the majority of mesothelioma patients, present standard therapies have little effect on survival. Clinical trials studying a variety of innovative treatment strategies are being performed at centers with a significant referral base for the disease. Future treatments, however, must be based on understanding of the biology of mesothelioma.
间皮瘤的细胞与分子生物学是一个复杂、多因素且尚未完全理解的致癌过程。正常间皮细胞可被多种因素（通常是石棉）转化为恶性表型。多个肿瘤抑制基因可能缺失，多个癌基因可能被激活。伴有细胞因子释放的局部炎症环境可能促进细胞生长失控。一氧化氮等免疫抑制物质的释放可能有助于这一过程。石棉与病毒DNA整合的相互作用尚不清楚，但值得进一步研究。在大多数间皮瘤患者中，目前的标准疗法对生存率影响甚微。在有大量该疾病转诊患者的中心正在开展研究各种创新治疗策略的临床试验。然而，未来的治疗必须基于对间皮瘤生物学的理解。
