The Mesomark Assay is an '' in vitro'' test to monitor and possibly diagnose

pleural The pleural cavity, pleural space, or interpleural space is the potential space between the pleurae of the pleural sac that surrounds each lung. A small amount of serous pleural fluid is maintained in the pleural cavity to enable lubrication bet ...

mesothelioma and peritoneal mesothelioma. Developed by Fujirebio Diagnostics and approved in late January 2007 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it works by measuring levels of soluble

mesothelin Mesothelin, also known as MSLN, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''MSLN'' gene. Function Mesothelin is a 40 kDa protein that is expressed in mesothelial cells. The protein was first identified by its reactivity with monoclonal an ...

-related proteins (SMRPs) released by diseased mesothelioma cells. The SMRP levels correlate directly with tumor volume thus permitting less invasive monitoring and improved assessment of treatment response. The MESOMARK assay is the most well-known and the world's first blood serum-based test for diagnosing mesothelioma. However, as certain types of tumors (such as sarcomatoid mesothelioma) do not release SMRP, the FDA recommends that doctors use the MESOMARK assay in conjunction with other tests to ensure an accurate mesothelioma diagnosis. In the future, the test may be used as an early detection measure as evidenced by recently sponsored tests by the

Early Detection Research Network {{Short description, Cancer biomarker discovery project The Early Detection Research Network (EDRN) is a collaboration led by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) focused on the discovery of cancer biomarkers. The effort, started in 2000, includes bo ...

of the National Cancer Institut

References

Cancer screening {{med-sign-stub