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Augmented expression of metallothionein and glutathione S-transferase pi as unfavourable prognostic factors in cisplatin-treated ovarian cancer patients

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Abstract

Resistance to cis- or carboplatin represents the principal cause of therapeutic failures in ovarian carcinoma. The phenomenon of resistance to platinum-based drugs is partly related to expression of metallothionein (MT) and of glutathione S-transferase pi (GST-pi), but opinion on the subject is discordant. Documentation of a negative predictive effect of MT and GST-pi expression for the therapy employing platinum-based drugs would permit to select resistant cases in which other therapeutic approaches could be employed. The present study aimed at examining the relation between intensities of MT and GST-pi expressions in ovarian carcinomas and dynamics of the clinical course in the neoplastic disease in a group of cisplatin-treated patients. The analyses were performed on samples of ovarian carcinoma originating from 43 first-look laparotomies (FLLs) and, in 30 cases, from second-look laparotomies (SLL) from the same patients. Immunohistochemical reactions were performed on paraffin sections of studied tumors, using monoclonal antibodies to MT and GST-pi. The calculations showed that in cases with augmented expression of MT, mortality was higher. On the other hand, augmented expression of GST-pi predisposed to more frequent relapses, deaths and progression of the tumor. Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that a significantly shorter survival time was linked to cases of higher expression of MT at FLL and of higher expression of GST-pi at FLL, whereas a shorter progression-free time was manifested by cases with higher expression of GST-pi at FLL. The performed investigations indicate that augmented expressions of MT at FLL and GST-pi at FLL in ovarian cancer represent an unfavourable predictive factor in cisplatin-treated patients.

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Acknowledgements

The study was supported by the grant no. 3 PO5E 064 22 from the Committee of Scientific Investigations, Poland, and by the “Berliner Krebsgesellschaft e.V.”, Germany.

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Correspondence to Hermann Lage.

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Surowiak, P., Materna, V., Kaplenko, I. et al. Augmented expression of metallothionein and glutathione S-transferase pi as unfavourable prognostic factors in cisplatin-treated ovarian cancer patients. Virchows Arch 447, 626–633 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-005-1228-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-005-1228-0

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