Tissue Procurement and Natural History Study of Patients With Malignant Mesothelioma

Summary

Participation Requirements

Description

Background: Malignant mesothelioma is a malignancy arising from the mesothelial cells of the pleura, peritoneum, pericardium, or tunica vaginalis. Mesothelioma accounts for 0.10% of deaths annually in the United States. Malignant pleural mesothelioma is the most common of these, comprising of 80% of...

Background: Malignant mesothelioma is a malignancy arising from the mesothelial cells of the pleura, peritoneum, pericardium, or tunica vaginalis. Mesothelioma accounts for 0.10% of deaths annually in the United States. Malignant pleural mesothelioma is the most common of these, comprising of 80% of the cases with an annual incidence of about 2,500 in the United States. The median survival from diagnosis of pleural mesothelioma is approximately 12 months. The majority of patients present with stage III or IV disease with 85-90% of patients considered unresectable at diagnosis. Peritoneal mesothelioma has a better prognosis than pleural mesothelioma; nevertheless, patients undergoing therapy for peritoneal mesothelioma have few well-studied treatment options due in large part to the rarity of the disease. In addition to mesothelioma, mesothelin is highly expressed in several cancers, including pancreatic, biliary adenocarcinomas, gastric and ovarian cancers; mesothelin is also expressed in a significantly larger proportion of thymic carcinoma than thymoma. Mesothelin expression level has been correlated with improved overall survival in thymic cancer and with reduced overall survival in patients with lung cancer. Objective: -To allow sample acquisition for use in the study of mesothelioma and other mesothelin expressing cancers. Eligibility: All patients age greater than or equal to 2 years with malignant mesothelioma All patients age greater than or equal to 18 years with thymic carcinoma, pancreatic or biliary adenocarcinoma or lung, gastric or ovarian cancers Must be able and willing to provide informed consent if 18 or over; parent or guardian must be able and willing to provide consent for patients under the age of 18 Design: Up to 1000 subjects will be enrolled. Patients will be followed to determine the course of disease and to record any treatment received for the eligible mesothelin expressing cancer. Patients will undergo sampling of blood, urine, tumor and abnormal body fluids for tissue banking. Studies which may be performed on banked material include genetic and genomic studies, establishment of cell cultures and immunologic studies.

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