Heterogeneity in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma
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Updated: Feb 9, 2026

Generation and Expansion of Primary, Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Tumor Lines
Published on: April 21, 2022
Kathrin Oehl1,2, Bart Vrugt3, Isabelle Opitz4
1Department of Thoracic Surgery, University Hospital Zurich, 8091 Zürich, Switzerland. Kathrin.Oehl@usz.ch.
Abstract:
Despite advances in malignant pleural mesothelioma therapy, life expectancy of affected patients remains short. The limited efficiency of treatment options is mainly caused by inter- and intra-tumor heterogeneity of mesotheliomas. This diversity can be observed at the morphological and molecular levels. Molecular analyses reveal a high heterogeneity (i) between patients; (ii) within different areas of a given tumor in terms of different clonal compositions; and (iii) during treatment over time. The aim of the present review is to highlight this diversity and its therapeutic implications.
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