Mesothelioma is a form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. There is currently no cure but each year researchers are making huge strides in the development of treatments to help relieve symptoms and improve life expectancy.
Activin A
Researchers in Finland have identified a protein, Activin A, which could predict a pleural mesothelioma patient’s response to chemotherapy.
Activin A is part of a family of proteins which are produced in development. It plays a part in cell proliferation, metabolism, immune response and natural cell death.
The level of Activin A tends to be higher in malignant mesothelioma patients.
The study
The team of researchers from the University of Helsinki took serum samples from 22 patients with benign lung lesions and 21 patients with pleural mesothelioma, along with samples from 59 patients with non-small-cell lung cancer.
They found that higher levels of Activin A were found in the mesothelioma patients. It was also found that the larger the mesothelioma tumour, the higher the level of Activin A was likely to be.
Further, they found that the patients with the highest levels of Activin A had the worse reaction to chemotherapy, with the smallest change in tumour size.
Why predict chemotherapy response?
Chemotherapy has many negative side-effects, including nausea, weight loss and hair loss, and for someone who has a terminal condition, whether to undergo chemotherapy is a huge decision. Sadly, for mesothelioma patients, chemotherapy isn’t a cure but it can alleviate symptoms and give more time to spend with loved ones.
Everyone reacts to chemotherapy differently but being able to predict the likely response to chemotherapy is a valuable tool for mesothelioma patients. If you were told that you could have weeks of chemotherapy, suffer terrible side-effects and it was likely your tumour wouldn’t reduce much in size, you may choose alternative treatments.
Activin A as a diagnostic tool
Activin A may also be helpful in diagnosing mesothelioma. From the samples taken, the levels of Activin A were higher in mesothelioma patients than in patients with lung cancer. So, if diagnosis is unclear, measuring Activin A levels could assist.
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Source:
Paajanen, J, et al, “Elevated Circulating Activin A Levels in Patients With Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Are Related to Cancer Cachexia and Reduced Response to Platinum-based Chemotherapy”, October 25, 2019, Clinical Lung Cancer, Epub ahead of print, https://www.clinical-lung-cancer.com/article/S1525-7304(19)30287-6/fulltext