Prediction of chemosensitivity using multigene analysis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
OBJECTIVE
The main purpose of the current study was to find predictive biomarkers that can be routinely used for the response to chemotherapy in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).


METHODS
From this standpoint, we selected the histoculture drug response assay (HDRA) to assess in vitro chemosensitivity, and real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction to investigate the gene expression profile of individual tumors as available predictive biomarkers. Using both surgery and biopsy specimens, we analyzed their gene expression profiles using the 18 markers that we thought were likely predictors of the response to anti-cancer agents.


RESULTS
Statistically significant associations were found between 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) sensitivity in HDRA and HER-2 mRNA expression level (p = 0.0030). Moreover, HER-2 expression was significantly associated with cisplatin sensitivity (p = 0.0089). Cisplatin sensitivity in HDRA was also demonstrated to have a significant association with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression in which the group with cisplatin resistance tended to have a higher expression level than the sensitive group (p = 0.0385).


CONCLUSIONS
HER-2 and EGFR may be possible reliable predictive biomarkers for anti-cancer therapy, and might help in the decision-making process for individual patients with HNSCC.
Hasegawa
Yasuhisa
Y
Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Aichi Cancer Center, Nagoya, Japan. hasegawa@aichi-cc.jp
Goto
Mitsuo
M
Hanai
Nobuhiro
N
Ijichi
Kei
K
Terada
Akihiro
A
Hyodo
Ikuo
I
Ogawa
Tetsuya
T
Fukushima
Masakazu
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D001706:Biopsy; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000494:pharmacology; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000494:pharmacology; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000032:analysis*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D002945:Cisplatin; D066246:ErbB Receptors; D005472:Fluorouracil; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; C508053:ERBB2 protein, human