• Stefan B Watzka, Florian Posch, Harvey I Pass, Margaret Huflejt, David Bernhard, Gregory E Hannigan, and Michael R Müller.
• Division of Thoracic Surgery, Karl Landsteiner Institute for Thoracic Oncology, Otto Wagner Hospital, Vienna, Austria. s.watzka@utanet.at
• J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. 2011 Aug 1; 142 (2): 384-9.

ObjectiveIntegrin-linked kinase, which is relevant to neoplastic transformation, is highly expressed in malignant pleural mesothelioma. Recently, detection of integrin-linked kinase in serum of patients with ovarian cancer has been reported. This study asks whether integrin-linked kinase can also be detected in serum of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma and whether serum level has diagnostic or prognostic relevance for that disease.MethodsA sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was designed to detect integrin-linked kinase and applied to serum samples from 46 patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma, 98 patients with other malignant chest disease, and 23 patients with benign chest disease. Integrin-linked kinase serum concentration and clinical data were correlated statistically.ResultsMedian serum integrin-linked kinase concentration was significantly higher in malignant pleural mesothelioma (8.89 ng/mL) than in other malignant chest disease (0.66 ng/mL) or benign chest disease (0.78 ng/mL, P < .001). There was no relevant correlation of serum integrin-linked kinase with cell lysis parameters (R(2) < 0.1). Serum integrin-linked kinase concentration greater than 2.48 ng/mL had diagnostic sensitivity of 80%, specificity of 95%, positive predictive value of 85.7%, negative predictive value of 92.7%, and overall accuracy of 91% for distinction between malignant pleural mesothelioma and other diseases. Serum integrin-linked kinase concentration in malignant pleural mesothelioma was independent of histologic subtype or asbestos exposure. There was no statistically significant impact of serum integrin-linked kinase concentration on prognosis.ConclusionsIntegrin-linked kinase can be detected in serum of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma and may be a diagnostic marker for the disease.Copyright © 2011 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

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