Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Produces Functional Granulocyte-Colony Stimulating Factor

We report a patient with diffuse malignant pleural mesothelioma showingmarked elevation of neutrophils. The level of serum granulocyte-colonystimulating factor (G-CSF) was elevated (138 pg/mL; normal range,< 20 pg/mL). The patient died 6 weeks after disease progression hadbeen noted, and immunohistochemistry using a specific monoclonalantibody against recombinant G-CSF at autopsy demonstrated that themalignant mesothelioma cells actually produced G-CSF. Only three casesof malignant pleural mesothelioma, including the current patient, havebeen reported to produce G-CSF. We demonstrated an elevated serum levelof G-CSF and G-CSF-bearing tumor cells by immunochemistry.