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Osteopontin levels in an asbestos-exposed population
Eun-Kee Park1, Paul S Thomas, Anthony R Johnson
1Research and Education Unit, Workers' Compensation (Dust Diseases) Board, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, and Department of Thoracic Medicine, St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst, Sydney, Australia.
Purpose:
Serum osteopontin levels in patients with malignant mesothelioma have been reported to be higher than in healthy subjects. This study assessed serum osteopontin levels in an asbestos-exposed population to test whether nonmalignant asbestos-related disorders could influence osteopontin levels.
Experimental Design:
This cross-sectional study evaluated serum osteopontin levels in 525 male subjects. Subjects were classified into six different diagnostic groups, including asbestosis (n=23), silicosis (n=20), diffuse pleural thickening (n=110), asbestosis and diffuse pleural thickening (n=13), pleural plaques (n=142), and healthy subjects with a history of asbestos exposure (n=217).
Results:
Mean serum osteopontin levels differed among the six groups (P<0.0001). Mean osteopontin values of the healthy individuals exposed to asbestos were significantly different from that of subjects with asbestosis (P<0.001) and diffuse pleural thickening (P<0.001). There was a significant difference in mean serum levels of osteopontin in healthy individuals exposed to asbestos (n=217) compared with the group mean of all subjects with asbestos-related disorders (n=288; P<0.0001).
Conclusions:
Our results suggest that osteopontin levels are elevated in subjects with asbestos-related disorders without malignant mesothelioma. These data indicate that osteopontin, although reported to be useful for detecting malignant mesothelioma in asbestos-exposed individuals, may be influenced by nonmalignant processes.
