J Korean Med Sci.  2009 Dec;24(6):1170-1176. 10.3346/jkms.2009.24.6.1170.

The Effect of Cyclooxygenase-2 Expression on Tumor Volume Response in Patients Treated with Radiotherapy for Uterine Cervical Cancer

• Kang MK
• Park W
• Choi YL
• Cho EY
• Ahn G
• Nam H
• Huh SJ
• Ahn YC
• Lim DH
• Oh DR
• Bae DS
• Kim BG

• KMID: 1783150
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2009.24.6.1170

Abstract

We investigated the correlation between Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression and the tumor response in patients with cervical cancer that were treated with curative radiotherapy (RT). Fifty-seven patients with squamous cell carcinoma were treated with concurrent radiochemotherapy (CRCT, n=29) or RT alone (n=28). The response of each patient was evaluated by three serial Magnetic Resonance Imaging examinations: before the start of RT, at four weeks after the start of RT (mid-RT) and at four weeks after the completion of RT (post-RT). Forty-three patients had positive COX-2 expression. The COX-2 negative patients achieved a higher rate of complete response (CR) at mid-RT than did the COX-2 positive patients (28.6% vs. 7.0%, P=0.054), but not at post-RT (64.3% vs. 69.8%). The initial tumor volume was a significant predictor of CR at mid-RT (P=0.003) and post-RT (P=0.004). The multivariate analysis showed that the initial tumor volume (at mid-RT and post-RT) and CRCT (at post-RT) were significant predictors of CR; however, the COX-2 expression was not. In conclusion, the COX-2 expression status has no significant correlation with the tumor response. Further studies on the changes in COX-2 expression levels during RT may be helpful for determination of its role in the tumor response to treatment and patient prognosis.

Keyword

Uterine Cervical Neoplasms; Cyclooxygenase 2; Radiotherapy; Tumor Burden; Tumor Response

MeSH Terms

*Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/enzymology/pathology/radiotherapy
Cyclooxygenase 2/*metabolism
Female
Humans
Middle Aged
Multivariate Analysis
Neoplasm Staging
*Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/enzymology/pathology/radiotherapy

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Immunohistochemical staining of COX-2. (A) negative (<10% of distribution of immunoreactivity), (B) positive (≥10% of distribution of immunoreactivity) (original magnification ×200).

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