title: The nm23-H1 gene as a predictor of sensitivity to chemotherapeutic agents in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: Recently, nm23-H1, an anti-metastasis gene, has been reported to correlate with sensitivity to chemotherapeutic agents including cisplatin in human breast and ovarian carcinoma cells. The aim of this study was to evaluate a role for nm23-H1 in responsiveness to cisplatin-based chemotherapy in patients with oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). The expression of nm23-H1 protein was examined immunohistochemically in 32 eligible patients with OSCC who underwent adjuvant chemotherapy with cisplatin, etoposide, and 5-fluorouracil after tumour resection. Fifteen (46.9%) of 32 patients were positive for nm23-H1 staining and 17 (53.1%) were negative. Both disease-free survival and overall survival rates of nm23-H1-negative patients were significantly shorter than in nm23-H1-positive patients (P < 0.01 for both). There was no significant difference in clinicopathologic characteristics between nm23-H1-positive and nm23-H1-negative groups. Multivariate analysis also showed that nm23-H1 expression was the most significant factor for overall survival of OSCC patients included in this study (P = 0.0007). To further study the role of nm23-H1, a human OSCC cell line (YES-2) was transfected with a plasmid containing a fragment of the nm23-H1 cDNA in an antisense orientation. Reduced expression of nm23-H1 protein in the antisense-transfected (AS) clones was found by Western blot analysis as compared to wild-type YES-2 and YES-2/Neo (clone transfected with the neomycin resistance gene alone). MTT (3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazol)-2,5-diphenyl-2H tetrazolium bromide) assay showed that reduced expression of the nm23-H1 protein in AS clones was consistent with the degree of increased resistance to cisplatin but not etoposide or 5-fluorouracil. These data support the conclusion that reduced expression of nm23-H1 may be associated with resistance to cisplatin, suggesting the value of nm23-H1 expression as a prognostic marker for OSCC patients who are to undergo cisplatin-based chemotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioregulatory Function, Yamaguchi University School of Medicine, Ube, Japan.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Iizuka
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hirose
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Noma
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hazama
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tangoku
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oka
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics*; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D005047:Etoposide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020559:Monomeric GTP-Binding Proteins; D054778:NM23 Nucleoside Diphosphate Kinases; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D009701:Nucleoside-Diphosphate Kinase; D016376:Oligonucleotides, Antisense / Q000494:pharmacology; D016019:Survival Analysis; D015996:Survival Rate; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics*; D014162:Transfection; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D054778:NM23 Nucleoside Diphosphate Kinases; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D016376:Oligonucleotides, Antisense; D014157:Transcription Factors; D005047:Etoposide; C517938:NME1 protein, human; D009701:Nucleoside-Diphosphate Kinase; D020559:Monomeric GTP-Binding Proteins; D002945:Cisplatin; D005472:Fluorouracil