The value of immunohistochemical detection of P-glycoprotein in breast cancer before and after induction chemotherapy.
We have studied the patterns of P-glycoprotein expression before and after 3 cycles of induction chemotherapy (5-fluorouracil, adriamycin and cyclophosphamide) using immunohistochemically stained paraffin-embedded specimen of 28 patients with locally advanced breast cancer. The frequency of P-glycoprotein expression in untreated breast cancer turned out to be very low: only one out of 28 untreated, biopsy specimen at the time of diagnosis was positive. The frequency of P-glycoprotein expression was markedly increased from 9.1% before chemotherapy to 63.6% after induction chemotherapy (p = 0.006). After 3 cycles of induction chemotherapy, 25 patients had obtained clinical response to chemotherapy (4, CR; 21, PR). Eleven out of 25 tumors (44%) showing clinical response and all three tumors (100%) with minimal response have expressed P-glycoprotein. One out of 6 patients (16.7%) with microscopic residual tumor seen in mastectomy specimen expressed P-glycoprotein, whereas 13 of 22 patients (59.1%) with gross residual tumor showed the presence of P-glycoprotein (p = 0.08). The frequency of intrinsic P-glycoprotein expression in untreated breast cancer was quite low, but approximately half of the patients do acquire P-glycoprotein expression during the cycles of induction chemotherapy. Therefore, the results suggest that the immunohistochemical detection of P-glycoprotein on residual tumor cells after induction chemotherapy can predict acquired drug resistance in breast cancer.
Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
E H
EH
Koh
H C
HC
Chung
K B
KB
Lee
H Y
HY
Lim
J H
JH
Kim
J K
JK
Roh
J S
JS
Min
K S
KS
Lee
B S
BS
Kim
D020168:ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Member 1; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D004351:Drug Resistance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000032:analysis*; D008875:Middle Aged
D020168:ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Member 1; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins