KL-6 as a Possible Biomarker for Pleural Mesothelioma

For the first time, a study has shown that Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) is a potential novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in pleural mesothelioma (PM).

Currently, soluble mesothelin-related protein (SMRP) is the only diagnostic biomarker approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

The study, published in Lung Cancer, investigated pleural effusion samples from 87 patients, mostly men, with a mean age of 73 years, with PM for KL-6 and SMRP. Most of the patients reported prior asbestos exposure (90%) and a smoking history (62%). Twenty-five patients with nonmalignant pleural disorders were also included.

Patients with PM had significantly higher KL-6 levels than the nonmalignant patients, according to Paul Stockhammer, MD, PhD, and colleagues. KL-6 levels were highest in patients with epithelioid or biphasic histologies.

There was a strong positive correlation between pleural effusion levels of KL-6 and SMRP, the authors noted.

In addition, OS was significantly better in patients with PM who had high KL-6 levels compared with patients with low KL-6 levels. Moreover, high tumor cell MUC1 and mRNA expression was associated with prolonged OS.

“Our study strongly emphasizes the advantages of KL-6/MUC1 as a novel liquid-based biomarker in PM, and it supports the concept of investigating KL-6/MUC1-targeted immunotherapy in PM future clinical trials,” the authors concluded.