Genome-wide cDNA microarray screening of genes related to the benefits of paclitaxel and irinotecan chemotherapy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer
Fumihiro Oshita, Akiko Sekiyama, Haruhiro Saito, Kouzo Yamada, Kazumasa Noda, and Yohei Miyagi
Previous studies have demonstrated that not only the benefits but also the toxicities of chemotherapy can be predicted by cDNA microarray analysis of tumor specimens obtained before chemotherapy against non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We conducted a study of cDNA microarray analysis to determine whether the gene expression in peripheral blood taken from patients prior to chemotherapy were correlated with the outcome of chemotherapy with paclitaxel (Pac) and irinotecan (CPT) against advanced NSCLC . Thirty-one patients with stage IIIB or IV NSCLC were treated with CPT at 60 mg/m 2 and Pac at 160 mg/m 2 every 2 weeks. Seventeen of 31 patients achieved PR and the overall RR was 54.8%. The median survival time was 426 days and the 1- year survival rate was 58.1%. The expression levels of 1176 genes were analyzed in 31 patients with the AtlasTM Human Cancer 1.2 Array. Stepwise multivariate analysis revealed that the genes encoding protein phosphatase, IL-1a and IgA were independent predictive factors for chemosensitivity. Stepwise regression analysis revealed that the thyrotropin-releasing hormone receptor and alkylation repair genes were independent prognostic factors. In conclusion, the expression of certain genes was able to predict the benefits of this Pac and CPT chemotherapy regimen.