title: Hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha expression predicts the response to 5-fluorouracil-based adjuvant chemotherapy in advanced gastric cancer.
abstract: Hypoxia frequently occurs in various solid tumors, thereby accelerating cancer progression and treatment resistance. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha) plays a central role in tumor hypoxia by up-regulating the gene expression related to angiogenesis, cancer invasion and anti-apoptosis. The present study immunohistochemically investigated HIF-1alpha expression in 63 gastric cancer specimens. Those specimens were obtained from 44 patients that received 5-FU chemotherapy post-operatively whereas the remaining 19 patients did not. The immunostaining pattern of HIF-1alpha was classified into 3 patterns: diffuse-positive within the tumor (DP), positive at the invasive front of the tumor (FP) and negative (N). Thirty-six of 63 (57.1%) patients exhibited DP, 24 (38.1%) revealed FP and the remaining 3 (4.8%) patients were judged as N. The HIF-1alpha expression pattern grouped into DP and FP/N correlated with the clinicopathological factors and survival. As a result, the HIF-1alpha expression did not show a significant correlation with the clinicopathological factors, such as the depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis and tumor stage, nor patient survival in the 63 patients. However, in the 44 patients that underwent chemotherapy, patients with the FP/N pattern showed longer survival than those with the DP pattern. On the other hand, no significant difference in survival was found between the 2 patterns among 19 patients without the chemotherapy. These results indicated that the diffuse expression of HIF-1alpha in gastric tumors might lead to drug resistance against adjuvant chemotherapy using 5-FU. In conclusion, the assessment of the HIF-1alpha expression in the resected tissues might predict the drug response to adjuvant 5-FU chemotherapy in advanced gastric cancer patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Saga University Faculty of Medicine, Nabeshima, Saga 849-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Yoshihiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kitajima
authors.forename: Keita
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kai
authors.forename: Mayumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mitsuno
authors.forename: Takao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ide
authors.forename: Kazuyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hashiguchi
authors.forename: Masatsugu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hiraki
authors.forename: Kohji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miyazaki
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D051795:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C497442:HIF1A protein, human; D051795:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit; D005472:Fluorouracil