Additionally WB-MRA does not assess the coronary vessels. Coronary MRA is still someway off routine clinical practice although this is a promising area with several studies showing accurate assessment of the proximal vessels and integration of this in the future is a possibility. In conclusion, CIMT and ABPI are markers of local atherosclerotic stenotic plaque burden but not systemic plaque burden in a population with peripheral arterial disease. Thus the techniques may be complimentary in their assessment of the vascular system. Asbestos-related SCH 442416 deaths have increased 400 percent in the past 20 years and the number of cases continues to increase despite awareness of asbestos-related hazards. Asbestos is a human mutagen and carcinogen, responsible for many pulmonary diseases TC-I 2000 including asbestosis, bronchogenic carcinoma, and malignant mesothelioma. Malignant mesothelioma is a rare form of an aggressive and often treatment-resistant cancer. Occupational exposure to asbestos is implicated in 70�C80% of all MM. After initial diagnosis, MM has a median survival of 10�C18 months. Conventional therapies, such as surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, do not necessarily improve overall survival. On the other hand, tremendous advances have been made regarding understanding the molecular biology of MM. Understanding the molecular biological features of asbestosinduced MM is of critical importance. MM cells arise from the pleura or the peritoneal cavity and produce numerous growth factors, including epidermal growth factor, platelet-derived growth factor, and transforming growth factor b. EGF is a potent mitogen for human mesothelial cells. In normal and pre-malignant animal cells of similar type, exposure to asbestos leads to autophosphorylation, increased expression of the cell surface EGF receptor that then appears to initiate cell signaling cascades important in asbestos-induced mitogenesis and carcinogenesis. Recent clinical studies have also shown over-expression of HER1 in MM. In an immunohistochemical and molecular study with clinico-pathological correlations, a statistically significant correlation was observed between the expression of HER1 by IHC and corresponding mRNA levels. Secondly, HER1 mRNA levels were higher in tumor specimens than non-neoplastic pleura samples. In another study comprising 71 patients, high HER1 expression was detected in 74.6% of the cases; 52.1% cases were positive for HER1 gene amplification and 45% of the cases had elevated serum HER1.