Immunohistochemical staining for glutathione S-transferase predicts response to platinum-based chemotherapy in head and neck cancer.
The glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) play an important role in the cell's defense against toxic substances. The GSTs are a family of enzymes produced by several genes that interact with distinct but overlapping substrates and that may play a role in resistance of tumor cells to several chemotherapeutic agents. We examined the correlation between expression of GSTs determined by immunohistochemistry and clinical response to platinum-based chemotherapy in 51 patients with head and neck cancer, who received a total of 56 courses of chemotherapy. The overall response rate for the 56 chemotherapy treatment courses was 48%. The overall response rate (complete response + partial response) for patients with low GST scores was 88% (21 of 24), whereas among the patients with high GST scores, the overall response rate was 19% (6 of 32; P = 0.001). Patients with a low GST score were 4.7 times more likely to respond to chemotherapy than patients with high GST scores. GST scores corresponded to response in 84% of cases. Among 23 patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the overall response rate for patients with low GST scores was 100% (14 of 14), whereas among the patients with high GST scores, the overall response rate was 44% (4 of 9; P = 0.002). Among 33 patients treated with chemotherapy for relapsed disease, the overall response rate for patients with low GST scores was 70% (7 of 10), whereas among the patients with high GST scores, the overall response rate was 8.6% (2 of 23; P < 0.001). We conclude that GST expression correlates well with response to platinum-based chemotherapy in head and neck cancer.
Nishimura
T
T
Department of Otolaryngology, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920, Japan.
Newkirk
K
K
Sessions
R B
RB
Andrews
P A
PA
Trock
B J
BJ
Rasmussen
A A
AA
Montgomery
E A
EA
Bischoff
E K
EK
Cullen
K J
KJ
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D005982:Glutathione Transferase / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D005982:Glutathione Transferase; D002945:Cisplatin