Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a highly lethal cancer for which effective therapy is lacking. Even the basic elements to treatment for this malignancy such as expedient diagnosis and accurate prognosis remain challenging and aggressive surgical extirpation is required for definitive staging and prognosis. We have previously described a novel technique using gene expression ratios to translate whole genome expression studies into clinically relevant tests that can accurately predict many clinical parameters such as diagnosis and prognosis in cancers. Specifically, we developed a test to distinguish between MPM and lung cancer and another test to,predict outcome in MPM patients undergoing surgery. These ratio-based tests require small amounts of tumor RNA, to predict in a statistically significant manner diagnosis as well as clinical outcome for patients undergoing surgery for MPM. We propose to expand the diagnostic capability of these tests by identifying additional genes to make the correct diagnosis whenever MPM is suspected. This methodology can serve as a template for a genomic . differential diagnosis algorithm to be an adjunct for pathology. We will then refine and validate these tests on additional specimens. We also propose to refine and develop the methodology so that specimens obtained minimally invasively or while using image-guided fine needle aspiration can be appropriately tested. To bring the prognostic and diagnostic tests to bedside they need to be made relevant to actual patient management, be standardized and be validated, preferably in a multi-center setting. We propose to prospectively validate the prognostic tests both with fine needle aspiration and minmally invasive biopsies in additional patients enrolled prospectively in clinical trials at our institution and in a multi center study. The proposed work will capitalize on new technology that can measure the expression (RNA) of the entire tumor genome to develop new tests that can be easily applied to patients. In addition to providing new tests that will alter the management of MPM patients--by eventually making surgery for diagnosis unecessary and save certain patientsfrom unecessary major surgery- this work will allow us to develop a diagnostic, prognostic and treatment directing platform that can be ultimately used for other cancers and human diseases to allow individual genome directed therapy for cancer and other diseases.
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