Comparison of DNA topoisomerase IIα expression in small cell and nonsmall cell carcinoma of the lung: In search of a mechanism of chemotherapeutic response

✍ Scribed by Donald G. Guinee Jr.; Joseph A. Holden; John R. Benfield; Madeline L. Woodward; Ronald M. Przygodzki; Nancy F. Fishback; Michael N. Koss; William D. Travis

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 803 KB
• Volume: 78
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0008-543X
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0142(19960815)78:4<729::aid-cncr6>3.0.co;2-9

✦ Synopsis

BACKGROUND.

Small cell carcinoma of the lung (SCLC) is distinguished from nonsmall cell carcinoma (NSCLC) by its exquisite initial sensitivity to chemotherapy. Antineoplastic drugs effective against SCLC include doxorubicin, etoposide, and others. Recently, the molecular target of these drugs has been identified as the a form of DNA topoisomerase 11, which is important in DNA replication and in the separation of chromosomes during normal cellular division. In this study, we compared DNA topoisomerase IIu expression in SCLC and NSCLC by immunohistochemistry. We hypothesized that the sensitivity of SCLC and relative insensitivity of NSCLC to these chemotherapeutic agents stem from different frequencies of DNA topoisomerase IIa expression.