J Korean Cancer Assoc.
1997 Apr;29(2):189-197.
Effects of Combination Chemotherapy Depending on The Expression of Neuron Specific Enolase (NSE), P-Glycoprotein (PgP) and Glutathione S-Transferase (GST)-pai in Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Internal Medicine, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Korea.
- 2Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Korea.
Abstract
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PURPOSE: Neuroendocrine differentiation and expression of drug resistance may affect the response to chemotherapy and the prognosis of advanced non-small cell lung cancer. We conducted retrospective study to evaluate the possibilities of neuroendocrine differentiation and drug resistance markers being used as prognostic factors in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.
MATERIAL AND METHOD: Immunohistochemical staining of NSE, PgP and GST-pai with polyclonal antibodies in pathologic specimens of 47 patients with non-small cell lung cancer were done. The relationship between the expression of the markers and the response to cisplatin-based chemotherapy and the overall survival were assessed.
RESULTS
NSE staining was positive in 17% and there was no difference between adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. NSE positive patients showed increased response rate (63% vs 26%, p=0.049) and prolonged response duration (15.8mo vs 4.5mo, p=0.0007). But there was no difference in overall survival between NSE positive and negative groups. The PgP positive rate was 17% and GST-pai positive rate was 47%. No correlations were found among the expression of drug resistance, the sensitivity to chemotherapy and overall survival.
CONCLUSION
Patients with non-small cell lung cancer with positive NSE showed increased response rate to chemotherapy and prolonged response duration but overall survival was not related to NSE expression. Expression of PgP and GST- were not important in predicting the prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer.