title: Mutation of the class I beta-tubulin gene does not predict response to paclitaxel for breast cancer.
abstract: Mutation of the class I beta-tubulin gene has been reported to be one of the mechanisms that cause resistance to paclitaxel. To assess the relationship between paclitaxel-resistance and class I beta-tubulin gene mutation in breast cancer, Japanese patients with breast cancer were screened for the class I beta-tubulin gene mutation. Total RNA was isolated from 82 breast cancer specimens and the corresponding normal tissues. Twenty-four of the 82 patients were treated with paclitaxel preoperatively and 12 of them did not respond to the treatment. Of the 82 breast cancer patients, 15 (18.3%) had silent polymorphism in exon 4, Leu217Leu (CTG/CTA). However, no mutations showing amino acid substitution of the beta-tubulin gene were detected in any of the patients, including 12 patients who did not respond to paclitaxel. Class I beta-tubulin gene mutation with amino acid substitution was not detected in 82 breast cancer specimens. Our results suggest that mutation of the class I beta-tubulin gene is unlikely to play an important role in the mechanism of resistance to paclitaxel in breast cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuma
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Maeno
authors.forename: Ken-ichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Yoshihisa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hama
authors.forename: Kiyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shingu
authors.forename: Morihiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: Muneaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sano
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakagomi
authors.forename: Shin-ichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tsuchiya
authors.forename: Minoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fujimori
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics*; D004351:Drug Resistance / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009154:Mutation; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014404:Tubulin / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D014404:Tubulin; D017239:Paclitaxel