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Fibulin-3 in plasma and pleural effusion as a biomarker of mesothelioma

Katja Adamic

Katja Adamic

University Clinic of Respiratory and Allergic DiseasesGolnik, Slovenia
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Adamic, Katja
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Mateja Marc Malovrh

Mateja Marc Malovrh

  • University Clinic of Respiratory and Allergic DiseasesGolnik, Slovenia
  • Faculty of Medicine, University of LjubljanaLjubljana, Slovenia
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Malovrh, Mateja Marc
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Urska Bidovec Stojkovic

Urska Bidovec Stojkovic

University Clinic of Respiratory and Allergic DiseasesGolnik, Slovenia
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Stojkovic, Urska Bidovec
 and 
Ales Rozman

Ales Rozman

  • University Clinic of Respiratory and Allergic DiseasesGolnik, Slovenia
  • Faculty of Medicine, University of LjubljanaLjubljana, Slovenia
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Rozman, Ales
  
Jun 16, 2025
Fibulin-3 in plasma and pleural effusion as a biomarker of mesothelioma's Cover Image
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Article Category: research article
Published Online: Jun 16, 2025
Page range: 225 - 232
Received: Dec 30, 2024
Accepted: Jan 19, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/raon-2025-0024
Keywords
© 2025 Katja Adamic et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Figure 1.

Plasma fibulin-3 levels by group. A = benign pleural disease related to asbestos; C = metastatic carcinomatosis; F = benign pleural effusion of other aetiologies; M = mesothelioma
Plasma fibulin-3 levels by group. A = benign pleural disease related to asbestos; C = metastatic carcinomatosis; F = benign pleural effusion of other aetiologies; M = mesothelioma

Figure 2.

Receiver-operating characteristic curve (ROC) for plasma fibulin-3 in distinguishing Group M (mesothelioma) and Group A (benign pleural disease related to asbestos).
Receiver-operating characteristic curve (ROC) for plasma fibulin-3 in distinguishing Group M (mesothelioma) and Group A (benign pleural disease related to asbestos).

Figure 3.

Fibulin-3 levels according to stage and type of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). Epit. M = epithelioid mesothelioma; G1 = Group G1, lower stage of MPM; G2 = Group G2, higher stage of MPM
Fibulin-3 levels according to stage and type of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). Epit. M = epithelioid mesothelioma; G1 = Group G1, lower stage of MPM; G2 = Group G2, higher stage of MPM

Figure 4.

Correlation between fibulin-3 levels in pleural effusion and patient survival in mesothelioma patients.
Correlation between fibulin-3 levels in pleural effusion and patient survival in mesothelioma patients.

Characteristics of patients

A (n = 13) M (n = 32) C (n = 24) F (n = 21)
Age (mean, SE) 68.1 (2.4) 63.7 (1.9) 63.1 (1.9) 63.8 (3.0)
Male gender – n (%) 12 (92.3) 24 (75.0) 14 (58.3) 20 (95.2)
Smoking status – n (%)
  Active smoker 1 (7.6) 7 (21.9) 2 (8.3) 3 (14.3)
  Former smoker 5 (38.5) 6 (18.8) 11 (45.8) 11 (52.4)
  Non-smoker 7 (53.8) 17 (53.1) 8 (33.3) 4 (19.0)
Asbestos exposure – n (%) 13 (100.0) 19 (59.4) 2 (8.3) 4 (19.0)

Fibulin-3 values, presented with the median and interquartile range (IQR)

A (n = 13) M (n = 32) C (n = 24) F (n = 21)
Fibulin-3 value (ng/mL)
Plasma 7.66 (4.43–8.96) 9.91 (6.08–15.83) 9.21 (7.97–15.93) 10.15 (6.125–13.83)
Pleural effusion 83.67 (15.71–87.21) 78.61 (44.4–94.37) 81.25 (35.86–95.45) 79.64 (41.43–86.99)

Fibulin-3 levels by mesothelioma type, shown with median and interquartile range

Epitheloid type Biphasic and sarcomatoid type
Fibulin-3 value (ng/mL)
Plasma 9.96 (7.66-16.65) 8.62 (5.91–13.26)
Pleural effusion 66.15 (42.72-93.64) 92.3 (82.6–105.2)
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English
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Journal Subjects:
Medicine, Clinical Medicine, Internal Medicine, Haematology, Oncology, Radiology
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