Evaluation of P-glycoprotein expression in soft tissue sarcomas of the extremities.
Soft tissue sarcomas comprise a heterogeneous group of mesenchymal tumors accounting for less than one-percent of adult neoplasms. In the last few years, the use of adjuvant chemotherapy has been proposed for the treatment of these lesions in order to obtain a better systemic control, but its usefulness is still controversial. In this study, we evaluated whether P-glycoprotein, a membrane protein strictly associated with multidrug resistance, is overexpressed in soft tissue sarcomas. By using human multidrug resistant sarcoma cell lines as controls, we analyzed P-glycoprotein expression in 34 primary and in 23 relapsed soft tissue sarcomas of the extremities. Overexpression of P-glycoprotein was found in 6 out of 34 primaries (18%) and in 8 out of 23 relapses (35%). In particular, in malignant fibrous histiocytoma, the most frequent soft tissue sarcoma of adults, P-glycoprotein overexpression was found in 23% of primary untreated cases, in agreement with the reported relapse rate of this tumor after surgery and chemotherapy. These data suggest that, in soft tissue sarcomas, overexpression of P-glycoprotein may be of prognostic value and that the assessment of P-glycoprotein expression may be useful for the design of chemotherapy protocols.
Serra
M
M
Laboratorio de Ricerca Oncologica, Istituti Ortopedici Rizzoli, Bologna, Italy.
Scotlandi
K
K
Manara
M C
MC
Maurici
D
D
Benini
S
S
Sarti
M
M
Nini
G
G
Barbanti-Brodano
G
G
Baldini
N
N
D020168:ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Member 1 / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D000328:Adult; D018432:Drug Resistance, Multiple / Q000235:genetics*; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics*; D005121:Extremities; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D018219:Histiocytoma, Benign Fibrous / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000145:classification / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012983:Soft Tissue Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D020168:ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Member 1; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins