Immunohistochemical expression of glutathione S-transferase-π can predict chemotherapy response in patients with nonsmall cell lung carcinoma

✍ Scribed by Fen Bai; Yoichi Nakanishi; Masayuki Kawasaki; Koichi Takayama; Jun Yatsunami; Xin Hai Pei; Nobuko Tsuruta; Kentaro Wakamatsu; Nobuyuki Hara

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 557 KB
• Volume: 78
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0008-543X
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0142(19960801)78:3<416::aid-cncr6>3.0.co;2-h

✦ Synopsis

BACKGROUND.

Resistance to chemotherapy agents is a major problem in the treatment of patients with nonsmall cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). Recent studies have indicated that glutathione S-transferase-n (GST-n) may play an important role in the resistance of cancer cells to alkylating agents, including cisplatin compounds. METHODS. The expression of GST-n in tissues obtained by bronchoscopic biopsy from 38 NSCLC patients was investigated immunohistochemically. These patients were treated with a combination of cisplatin-based chemotherapy and were evaluated to determine the relationship between GST-n expression and chemotherapy response.

RESULTS.

Of the 38 patients, 25 (66%) were GST-i7-positive and 13 (34%) were negative. There was no significant correlation between GST-T expression and the clinicopathologic factors examined (age, sex, performance status, histology, differentiation grade, and stage). Of the 38 patients treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy, 12 patients responded to chemotherapy (overall response rate, 32%). For the patients with negative GST-lr expression, the response rate was 69% (9 of 13 patients). In the patients with positive GST-T expression, the response rate was 12% ( 3 of 25 patients). This difference was statistically significant ( P = 0.0012). CONCLUSIONS. The expression of GST-n in NSCLC patients was significantly related to response to cisplatin-based chemotherapy, and may be a useful predictor of chemotherapy response.