title: Correlation between the immunohistochemical and mRNA expression of glutathione S-transferase-pi and cisplatin plus etoposide chemotherapy response in patients with untreated primary non-small cell lung cancer.
abstract: Patients who have inoperable lung cancer usually undergo chemotherapy and have problems such as a resistance against chemotherapeutic agents during the treatment. Glutathione S-transferase (GST) is one of the detoxication-related enzymes. We studied the relationship between immunohisto-chemical staining of GST-pi type and cisplatin + etoposide chemotherapy in patients with untreated primary non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Of patients diagnosed as having primary lung cancer, 60 cases (49 men, 11 women; median age, 75.2 years, 35 squamous cell carcinomas and 25 adenocarcinomas) with stage, which were not surgically treatable, were examined immunohistochemically by using anti-GST-pi antibody. Chemotherapy (cisplatin 100 mg/m(2) i.v. day 1, etoposide 100 mg/m(2) i.v. days 1-3) was administered for all 60 patients and was repeated at 28 days for two cycles. After two courses of treatment, the therapeutic response was evaluated. Of 60 cases, 36 (60%) were GST-pi positive and 24 (40%) negative at pretreatment. In 24 patients with GST-pi negative expression, the chemo-therapeutic response rate was 66.7% (16/24), while the response rate was 25% (9/36) in the 36 GST-pi positive patients. The mRNA levels of GST-pi were similar to the immunohistochemical expressions in some of these cases by using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis. The results suggest that GST-pi: expression in cancer tissues is related to response to cisplatin + etoposide chemotherapy in untreated primary NSCLC patients, and may be useful as a predictor of chemotherapy response.
authors.affiliation: GIFU UNIV,SCH MED,DEPT PATHOL 1,GIFU 500,JAPAN. GIFU UNIV,SCH MED,DEPT INTERNAL MED 2,GIFU 500,JAPAN.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Arai
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yasuda
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takaya
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yoshimi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fujiwara