Libby residents part of national study

The Daily Inter Lake

Blood from 1,000 Libby residents will be used in a long-term study to further calibrate a newly released test for the detection of mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer linked to asbestos exposure.

With funding from the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, the Center for Asbestos Related Disease in Libby will draw blood samples from both healthy residents and those diagnosed with asbestos disease, to identify the levels of soluble mesothelin-related protein in the blood.

A test for the presence of the protein, trademarked under the name Mesomark, has been available in Australia since fall 2004 and became available in Europe this spring. The test is entirely specific to mesothelioma and is 84 percent accurate in verifying proven cases of the tumor, according to foundation spokesman Klaus Brauch.

To more accurately calibrate the test, the study of Libby's population will allow researchers to standardize and publish the thresholds of soluble mesothelin-related protein and their meaning, Brauch said.

Mesothelioma is a malignant tumor that aggressively invades the mesothelial linings of the lungs, abdomen, heart or testicles. Mesothelial cells produce a number of soluble proteins that can be detected in the blood. Elevated levels of soluble mesothelin-related protein appear to be closely tied to the presence of mesothelioma.

Drs. Brad Black and Harvey Pass are co-investigators of the study. Black is medical director of the CARD clinic in Libby and Pass is chief thoracic surgeon at New York University. Pass was formerly head of thoracic oncology and senior investigator of the surgery branch of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md.

"CARD is a community-supported institution whose mission is perfectly aligned with the goals of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation," Black said in a news release. "Our partnership is bringing together patients, doctors, families and even those who are still healthy to help in the development of a much needed diagnostic tool. With early detection we improve the chances for finding a cure for this terrible disease."

Libby, home to the former W.R. Grace vermiculite mine, has one of the highest pleural mesothelioma cancer rates of any community in America.

Black will present information on the study at the Second International Mesothelioma Symposium in Las Vegas next month.

Pass is co-chairman of the symposium.