Prediction of pneumoconiosis by serum and urinary biomarkers in workers exposed to asbestos-contaminated minerals.

Workers processing nephrite, antigorite, or talc may be exposed to paragenetic asbestos minerals. An effective screening method for pneumoconiosis in workers exposed to asbestos-contaminated minerals is still lacking. The objective of this study was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of serum and urinary biomarkers for pneumoconiosis in workers exposed to asbestos-contaminated minerals. We conducted a case-control study in a cohort of stone craft workers in Hualien, where asbestos, nephrite, antigorite, and talc are produced. A total of 140 subjects were screened between March 2013 and July 2014. All subjects received a questionnaire survey and a health examination that included a physical examination; chest X-ray; and tests for standard pulmonary function, fractional exhaled nitric oxide, serum soluble mesothelin-related peptide (SMRP), fibulin-3, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and urinary 8-Oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG)/creatinine. After excluding subjects with uraemia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), we included 48 subjects with pneumoconiosis and 90 control subjects without pneumoconiosis for analysis. In terms of occupational history, 43/48 (90%) case subjects and 68% (61/90) of the control subjects had processed asbestos-contaminated minerals, including nephrite, antigorite, and talc. The case group had decreased pulmonary function in forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second, and forced expiratory flow between 25% and 75% of the FVC. The levels of SMRP, fibulin-3, urinary 8-OHdG/creatinine, and CEA were higher in the case group than in the control group. Subjects exposed to nephrite had significantly higher SMRP levels (0.84 ± 0.52 nM) than subjects exposed to other types of minerals (0.60 ± 0.30 nM). A dose-response relationship was observed between the SMRP level and the severity of pneumoconiosis. Machine learning algorithms, including variables of sex, age, SMRP, fibulin-3, CEA, and 8-OHdG/creatinine, can predict pneumoconiosis with high accuracy. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves ranged from 0.7 to 1.0. We suggest that SMRP and fibulin-3 could be used as biomarkers of pneumoconiosis in workers exposed to asbestos-contaminated minerals.

Sensitivity of urinary mesothelin in patients with malignant mesothelioma.

INTRODUCTION: Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is an aggressive, uniformly fatal tumor usually caused by exposure to asbestos. Soluble mesothelin has been intensively investigated in the serum as a biomarker for this disease. As urine is less complex and less invasive to collect than serum and may be a more acceptable specimen for large-scale screening studies of asbestos-exposed individuals, we determined whether the sensitivity and specificity for MM could be improved by measuring soluble mesothelin in the urine. METHODS: Soluble mesothelin concentrations were determined using the MESOMARK assay in concurrent serum and urine samples from 70 patients with pleural MM, 111 patients with asbestos-related lung or pleural disease, and 45 patients with benign nonasbestos-related lung and pleural disease. Only patients with serum creatinine levels within the normal range were included in the study. Sensitivities were determined and receiver operator characteristic curves were generated to compare the diagnostic accuracy of mesothelin in the serum and urine. RESULTS: At a specificity of 95% relative to individuals with benign lung or pleural disease, serum mesothelin had a sensitivity of 66% and area under the curve of 0.882, whereas urinary mesothelin corrected for urine creatinine concentration had a sensitivity of 53% and area under the curve of 0.787. CONCLUSIONS: The sensitivity of urinary mesothelin does not warrant the use of urine as a biomarker specimen for MM diagnosis.

[Ecogenetic aspects of the study of phenotypes and levels of beta-aminoisobutyric acid excretion]. / Ekogeneticheskie aspekty izucheniia fenotipov i urovnei ékskretsii beta-aminoizomaslianoi kisloty.

The levels of excretion of beta-aminoisobutyric acid (BAIB) in urea were examined in five groups. The distribution of BAIB concentration revealed the existence of high and low excretors in each group. Asbestosis patients had the lowest frequency of high excretors. The BAIB concentration among high excretors was similar for all the groups. The BAIB levels of low excretors varied. The most alike were two children groups, asbestosis patients and the workers from the town Asbest.