Tissue Procurement and Natural History Study of Patients With Malignant Mesothelioma

Background:

* Malignant mesothelioma is a malignancy arising from the mesothelial cells of the pleura, peritoneum, pericardium, or tunica vaginalis.
* Mesothelioma accounts for 0.10% of deaths annually in the United States. Malignant pleural mesothelioma is the most common of these, comprising of 80% of the cases with an annual incidence of about 2,500 in the United States.
* The median survival from diagnosis of pleural mesothelioma is approximately 12 months. The majority of patients present with stage III or IV disease with 85-90% of patients considered unresectable at diagnosis.
* Peritoneal mesothelioma has a better prognosis than pleural mesothelioma; nevertheless, patients undergoing therapy for peritoneal mesothelioma have few well-studied treatment options due in large part to the rarity of the disease.

Objectives:

-To allow sample acquisition for use in the study of mesothelioma.

Eligibility:

* All patients age greater than or equal to 2 years with malignant mesothelioma
* Must be able and willing to provide informed consent if 18 or over; parent or guardian must be able and willing to provide consent for patients under the age of 18

Design:

* Up to 1000 subjects will be enrolled.
* Patients will be followed to determine the course of disease and to record any treatment received for mesothelioma.
* Patients will undergo sampling of blood, urine, tumor and abnormal body fluids for tissue banking.
* Studies which may be performed on banked material include genetic and genomic studies, establishment of cell cultures and immunologic studies.

Background:

* Malignant mesothelioma is a malignancy arising from the mesothelial cells of the pleura, peritoneum, pericardium, or tunica vaginalis.
* Mesothelioma accounts for 0.10% of deaths annually in the United States. Malignant pleural mesothelioma is the most common of these, comprising of 80% of the cases with an annual incidence of about 2,500 in the United States.
* The median survival from diagnosis of pleural mesothelioma is approximately 12 months. The majority of patients present with stage III or IV disease with 85-90% of patients considered unresectable at diagnosis.
* Peritoneal mesothelioma has a better prognosis than pleural mesothelioma; nevertheless, patients undergoing therapy for peritoneal mesothelioma have few well-studied treatment options due in large part to the rarity of the disease.
* In addition to mesothelioma, mesothelin is highly expressed in several cancers, including pancreatic, biliary adenocarcinomas, gastric and ovarian cancers; mesothelin is also expressed in a significantly larger proportion of thymic carcinoma than thymoma.
* Mesothelin expression level has been correlated with improved overall survival in thymic cancer and with reduced overall survival in patients with lung cancer.

Objective:

-To allow sample acquisition for use in the study of mesothelioma and other mesothelin expressing cancers.

Eligibility:

* All participants age greater than or equal to 2 years with malignant mesothelioma
* All participants age greater than or equal to 18 years with thymic carcinoma, pancreatic or biliary adenocarcinoma or lung, gastric or ovarian cancers
* Must be able and willing to provide informed consent if 18 or over; parent or guardian must be able and willing to provide consent for participants under the age of 18

Design:

* Up to 1000 participants will be enrolled.
* Participants will be followed to determine the course of disease and to record any treatment received for the eligible mesothelin expressing cancer.
* Participants will undergo sampling of blood, urine, tumor and abnormal body fluids for tissue banking.
* Studies which may be performed on banked material include genetic and genomic studies, establishment of cell cultures and immunologic studies.

Eligibility Criteria:
* INCLUSION CRITERIA:
* All participants greater than or equal to 2 years of age with malignant mesothelioma.
* All participants greater than or equal to18 years of age with thymic carcinoma, pancreatic or biliary adenocarcinoma or lung, gastric or ovarian cancers.
* Confirmed pathological diagnosis is required
* Ability and willingness of participant to provide informed consent to participation.

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

* Active symptomatic major organ disorder that would increase the risk of biopsy, including but not limited to ischemic heart disease, recent myocardial infarction, active congestive heart failure, pulmonary dysfunction.
* Pregnant women
* Active concomitant medical or psychological illnesses that may increase the risk to the participant or in adult participants, inability to obtain informed consent, at the discretion of the principal investigator.