* Mesothelioma Immunohistochemistry

    In general terms, immunohistochemistry (IHC) involves the process of locating proteins in tissue cells. The process uses staining to identify proteins, as well as the principle that antibodies bind to specific antigens in human tissue. Immunohistochemical staining is widely used in the diagnosis of cancerous cells and other abnormal cells. Mesothelioma immunohistochemistry is used to diagnose the histological type of a mesothelioma tumor, such as epithelial or sarcomatoid mesothelioma, which can effect treatment options.

    Mesothelioma immunohistochemistry can be most useful in differentiating epithelial mesothelioma from other types of epithelial tumors. It has shown to be less effective for sarcomatoid mesotheliomas, but can be helpful when distinguishing sarcomatoid mesothelioma from sarcomatoid carcinoma.

    Professionals in the field of mesothelioma note that immunohistochemistry data should be used in context with other diagnostic data. In other words, the results of a mesothelioma immunohistochemistry analysis should not be considered a primary indicator for amesothelioma diagnosis. Contributing expert to the book Malignant Mesothelioma, Betta Peir-Giacomo, M.D. writes, "As for the capacity of IHC to provide possible clues to a more accurate diagnosis of MM (malignant mesothelioma), first it is necessary to underline that the contribution of IHC cannot be generalized, but differs in relation to each diagnostic setting, each with its own peculiar set of morphologic and immunophenotypic variables."

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Mesothelioma BerEP4

    BerEP4 is a human antibody that can be expressed in epithelial cells. Antibodies, also known as "immunoglobulins," are specific proteins found in the blood which are used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign and unwanted objects, such as viruses and bacteria.

    In the case of mesothelioma, BerEP4 has shown to be helpful in the diagnosis of epithelial mesotheliomas. However, immunohistochemists are still researching the efficacy of BerEP4 as a diagnostic indicator for mesothelioma, as this antibody has appeared both in mesotheliomas and other similar tumors. Thus, the presence or lack of BerEP4 does not always indicate a malignant mesothelioma

Mesothelioma Vimentin

    Vimentin is a protein, more specifically a filament protein. Research has shown that vimentin proteins attach to the nucleus (and two other organelles) of a cell and help to anchor the position of the nucleus and other organelles.  The dynamic structure of vimentin is important to the flexibility of a cell and it is generally accepted that this protein is important to maintaining cell integrity.

    Like the antibody BerEP4, vimentin has shown to help diagnose mesothelioma, but the protein also appears in other tumors aside from mesotheliomas. Because vimentin appears in mesotheliomas as well as other malignant tumors, it is not considered a discriminatory marker for mesothelioma, but rather a piece of the diagnostic puzzle.

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