ABSTRACT

Asbestos exposure is associated with many adverse health conditions including malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer as well as production of autoantibodies. Autoantibodies may serve as biomarkers for asbestos exposure in patients with cancer, and autoimmune dysfunction has been linked to increased rates of various cancers. The aim of this study was to examine the hypothesis that autoantibodies are more frequent in asbestos-exposed individuals with either lung cancer or mesothelioma than those without these conditions. Asbestos-exposed individuals from Western Australia who had lung cancer (n = 24), malignant mesothelioma (n = 24), or no malignancy (n = 51) were tested for antinuclear autoantibodies (ANA) using indirect immunofluorescence and specific extractable nuclear autoantibodies (ENA) employing a multiplexed addressable laser bead immunoassay. Contrary to the hypothesis, data demonstrated that individuals without malignancy were more likely to be positive for ANA compared to those with cancer. However, autoantibodies to histone and Ro-60 were found to be associated with lung cancer. These results support a possible predictive value for specific autoantibodies in the early detection of lung cancer and/or in our understanding of the role of autoimmune processes in cancer. However, further studies are needed to identify specific target antigens for the antibodies.

 抽象的

石棉暴露与许多不良健康状况有关，包括恶性间皮瘤和肺癌以及自身抗体的产生。自身抗体可以作为癌症患者石棉暴露的生物标志物，而自身免疫功能障碍与各种癌症的发病率增加有关。本研究的目的是检验这样一个假设：与没有这些疾病的人相比，接触石棉的肺癌或间皮瘤患者更容易产生自身抗体。使用间接免疫荧光和特异性可提取核自身抗体，对来自西澳大利亚的患有肺癌 (n = 24)、恶性间皮瘤 (n = 24) 或无恶性肿瘤 (n = 51) 的石棉暴露个体进行抗核自身抗体 (ANA) 检测。 ENA）采用多重可寻址激光珠免疫测定。与假设相反，数据表明，与患有癌症的人相比，未患恶性肿瘤的人更有可能呈 ANA 阳性。然而，组蛋白和 Ro-60 自身抗体被发现与肺癌有关。这些结果支持特定自身抗体在肺癌早期检测和/或我们了解自身免疫过程在癌症中的作用中的可能预测价值。然而，还需要进一步研究来确定抗体的特定靶抗原。