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 patients age greater than or equal to 2 years with malignant mesothelioma~All patients 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 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 the eligible mesothelin expressing cancer.~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.~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.