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Cancers
Special Issues
Mesothelioma Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Emerging Treatments and Pre-Clinical Models
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Mesothelioma Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Emerging Treatments and Pre-Clinical Models

A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 2477

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Francesca Pentimalli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Medicine and Surgery, LUM University "Giuseppe DeGennaro", 70010 Casamassima, Italy
Interests: cell cycle; mesothelioma; DNA damage; tumor suppressor genes; RB family; p53; oncolytic viruses; cell death; CDK inhibitors; p27
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to a Special Issue on ‘Mesothelioma Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Emerging Treatments and Pre-clinical Models’. Mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive disease mainly due to exposure to asbestos or other toxic fibres. Unfortunately, there is no current curative modality effective against this cancer, and therefore, the prognosis remains dismal. Despite advancements in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying this disease, there is still an urgent need for further research to facilitate early diagnosis and to identify new treatments (or rationale drug combinations) which could significantly improve patient outcomes.

This Special Issue aims to publish cutting-edge research and advancements in the field of mesothelioma to address these aforementioned challenges. We welcome submissions of both original research articles and reviews. Some suggested research areas include, but are not limited to, the following:

- Epidemiology and risk factors of mesothelioma;

- Molecular mechanisms underlying mesothelioma pathogenesis;

- Novel diagnostic approaches and biomarkers for early detection;

- Advancements in surgical techniques and therapeutic interventions;

- Emerging targeted therapies and immunotherapies for mesothelioma;

- Pre-clinical models of mesothelioma

Dr. Francesca Pentimalli
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cancers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • mesothelioma
  • epidemiology
  • pathogenesis
  • emerging treatments
  • risk factors
  • biomarkers
  • surgical techniques
  • targeted therapies
  • immunotherapies
  • pre-clinical models

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 3259 KiB  
Article
Prognostic Stratification of Epithelioid Pleural Mesothelioma Based on the Hippo-TEADs Network
by Anello Marcello Poma, Rossella Bruno, Iacopo Petrini, Iosè Di Stefano, Alessandra Celi, Andrea Sbrana, Sabrina Cappelli, Antonio Chella, Franca Melfi, Marco Lucchi and Greta Alì
Cancers 2025, 17(3), 469; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers17030469 - 30 Jan 2025
Viewed by 712
Abstract
Background. The Hippo pathway is the most frequently altered signaling in pleural mesothelioma (PM). Epithelioid PM (ePM) is associated with better outcome than non-epithelioid subtypes, but its prognosis can be heterogeneous. Here, we tried to stratify ePM using the expression levels of the [...] Read more.
Background. The Hippo pathway is the most frequently altered signaling in pleural mesothelioma (PM). Epithelioid PM (ePM) is associated with better outcome than non-epithelioid subtypes, but its prognosis can be heterogeneous. Here, we tried to stratify ePM using the expression levels of the Hippo-TEAD network. Methods. Thirty patients with ePM were included in this study. Tumors were stratified using the expression levels of 74 genes belonging to the Hippo-TEAD network and using the non-negative matrix factorization algorithm. Results were validated using ePM cases from the TCGA cohort. Alterations associated with the molecular subgroups were investigated using mutation and copy number alteration data from TCGA. Results. Two groups of ePM (i.e., HP1 and HP2) were identified and validated using TCGA data. HP2 comprises about one-third of tumors. These tumors are frequently high-grade (73% vs. 35%), have higher levels of downstream Hippo effectors (i.e., YAP1, WWTR1 and TEADs), lower levels of VSIR—which encodes for VISTA—and poorer PFS and OS. HP2 tumors commonly harbor homodeletions in Hippo core suppressors (25% vs. 3%), while no specific gene mutation or copy number alterations of Hippo genes was associated with the two groups. Conclusions. ePM can be stratified in prognostic subtypes based on the expression levels of the Hippo-TEAD network. Higher levels of downstream Hippo effectors are associated with poor response to platinum-pemetrexed doublet and worse OS. The stratification of ePM based on the activation of the YAP/TAZ-TEAD axis is an intriguing approach in the light of the inhibitors of this signaling that are currently under investigation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mesothelioma Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Emerging Treatments and Pre-Clinical Models)
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18 pages, 2947 KiB  
Article
Analysis of TERT mRNA Levels and Clinicopathological Features in Patients with Peritoneal Mesothelioma
by Antonio d’Amati, Gabriella Serio, Andrea Quaranta, Luigi Vimercati, Michelina De Giorgis, Loredana Lorusso, Mariella Errede, Vito Longo, Andrea Marzullo, Domenico Ribatti and Tiziana Annese
Cancers 2025, 17(2), 252; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers17020252 - 14 Jan 2025
Viewed by 1002
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) is the catalytic subunit of the telomerase enzyme responsible for telomere length maintenance and is an important cancer hallmark. Our study aimed to clarify the mRNA expression of TERT in peritoneal mesothelioma (PeM), and to explore the relationship [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) is the catalytic subunit of the telomerase enzyme responsible for telomere length maintenance and is an important cancer hallmark. Our study aimed to clarify the mRNA expression of TERT in peritoneal mesothelioma (PeM), and to explore the relationship between its expression and the clinicopathological parameters and prognosis of patients with PeM. Methods: In a cohort of 13 MpeM patients, we evaluated histotype, nuclear grade, mitotic count, necrosis, inflammation, Ki67, BAP1, MTAP and p16 expression by immunohistochemistry, p16/CDKN2A status by FISH and TERT mRNA expression by RNAscope. Results: Our results showed several statistical correlations between TERT mRNA-score and other investigated features: (i) a poor positive correlation with BAP1 score (r = 0.06340; p ≤ 0.0001); (ii) a moderate positive correlation with p16 FISH del homo (r = 0.6340; p ≤ 0.0001); (iii) a fair negative correlation with p16 FISH del hetero (r = −0.3965; p ≤ 0.0001); a negative poor correlation with MTAP (r = −0.2443; p ≤ 0.0001); and (iv) a negative fair correlation with inflammatory infiltrate (r = −0.5407; p = 0.0233). Moreover, patients survive for a significantly longer time if they have a low mitotic index adjusted (2–4 mitotic figures per 2 mm2) (p ≤ 0.0001), are male (p = 0.0152), lose BAP1 (p = 0.0152), are p16 positive and present no deletion or heterozygous for p16 (p ≤ 0.01). Conclusions: TERT is highly expressed in PeM, but it is not one of the crucial factors in evaluating the prognosis of patients. Nevertheless, the results validate the prognostic significance of the mitotic index, BAP1 loss and p16/CDKN2A status. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mesothelioma Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Emerging Treatments and Pre-Clinical Models)
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