Surgical phenotype of patients with peritoneal mesothelioma and a germline mutation

Background: This study aimed to investigate if peritoneal mesothelioma (PM) patients with germline mutations (GM) have distinct surgical characteristics when compared to those without GM. Methods: PM patients were selected from an ongoing prospective study that conducts germline testing of 82 susceptibility genes. Germline status was correlated with surgical data obtained from a prospectively collected database using univariate, multivariate, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses. Results: Out of 88 PM patients enrolled between 2009 and 2019, 18 GMs (20.5%) were identified in BRCA1-associated protein 1 (BAP1) (n = 11, 12.5% of all patients), SDHA (n = 2) and WT1, CDKN2A, CHEK2, ATM, and BRCA2 (n = 1 patient each). Surgical procedures were performed in 71 patients, the most common of which were cytoreductive surgeries with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (n = 61). Patients with GM presented with a higher prevalence of other prior cancers (61.1% vs. 31.4%, p = .02) and lower platelet count (251 [160-413] vs. 367 [196-780] K/mu L, p = .005) compared to those without GM (n = 70). Survival outcomes did not differ significantly between the groups. Patients with BAP1 GMs were more likely to develop bicavitary disease and to present with lower platelet count and mitotic count score, and higher peritoneal cancer index (PCI, all p <= .04) compared with those without GM. On ROC analysis, the combination of PCI, platelet count and mitotic score yielded an area under the curve of 0.96 (95% CI, 0.91-1.0) for BAP1 GM detection among operated PM patients. Conclusion: Higher intraoperative tumor burden and lower platelet count and mitotic score are suggestive of BAP1 GMs in surgical PM patients and should prompt germline testing.

Automated summary

This study aimed to investigate the distinct surgical characteristics of peritoneal mesothelioma (PM) patients with germline mutations (GM). The presence of BAP1 GM in surgical PM patients was associated with a higher prevalence of bicavitary disease, lower platelet count, lower mitotic score, and higher peritoneal cancer index (PCI). These findings suggest that germline testing should be considered for PM patients with higher tumor burden and lower platelet count and mitotic score.