Clinical significance of class III β-tubulin expression and its predictive value for resistance to docetaxel-based chemotherapy in gastric cancer

• Published in: International journal of oncology Vol. 28; no. 2; pp. 375 - 381
• Main Authors: URANO, Naomi, FUJIWARA, Yoshiyuki, MONDEN, Morito, DOKI, Yuichiro, KIM, S. J, MIYOSHI, Yasuo, NOGUCHI, Shinzaburo, MIYATA, Hiroshi, TAKIGUCHI, Shuji, YASUDA, Takushi, YANO, Masahiko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Athens Editorial Academy of the International Journal of Oncology 01-02-2006
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic - administration & dosage; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic - therapeutic use; Biological and medical sciences; Biopsy; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; Drug Therapy, Combination; Female; Gastroenterology. Liver. Pancreas. Abdomen; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Predictive Value of Tests; Stomach Neoplasms - drug therapy; Stomach Neoplasms - metabolism; Stomach Neoplasms - pathology; Stomach. Duodenum. Small intestine. Colon. Rectum. Anus; Taxoids - administration & dosage; Taxoids - therapeutic use; Treatment Outcome; Tubulin - analysis; Tubulin - biosynthesis; Tubulin - metabolism; Tumors; Antineoplastic agent; gastric cancer; p53 gene mutation; Docetaxel; Malignant tumor; Stomach cancer; Resistance; class III β-tubulin; Chemotherapy; Cancerology; TP53 Gene; Treatment; Tubulin; Taxane derivatives; Predictive value; Digestive diseases; Genetics; Mutation; Antimitotic; docetaxel resistance; Gastric disease
• ISSN: 1019-6439; 1791-2423
• DOI: 10.3892/ijo.28.2.375

Docetaxel, one of the most effective anticancer drugs for gastric cancer, targets beta-tubulin, the major protein in mitotic spindles. Eight isotypes of beta-tubulin, with tissue and organ-specific expression, have been identified in mammalian cells. We examined class III beta-tubulin expression in gastric cancer and assessed its relationship with sensitivity to docetaxel-based chemotherapy. A total of 115 paraffin-embedded gastric tumors were analyzed by immunohistochemistry for class III beta-tubulin expression. Twenty patients with advanced gastric cancer received preoperative docetaxel-based chemotherapy. Their biopsied specimens, obtained by endoscopy before chemotherapy were examined for class III beta-tubulin expression. The relationship between expression and chemosensitivity was assessed. Forty-two (36.4%) of 115 cases were confirmed to be positive for class III beta-tubulin expression. There was no association between clinicopathological status and prognosis. Among the patients positive for class III beta-tubulin expression, only 16.7% showed no response to chemotherapy, while 64.3% responded to the chemotherapy in the negative group. Our results suggest that class III beta-tubulin is a simple and useful predictive marker for the clinical response to docetaxel-based chemotherapy in gastric cancer.