Heterogeneity in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma

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.

Keywords

• mesothelioma
• inter-tumor heterogeneity
• temporal intra-tumor heterogeneity
• spatial intra-tumor heterogeneity
• chemoresistance
• cancer stem cells
• targeted therapy