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Expression of P-glycoprotein and metallothionein in gastrointestinal stromal tumor and leiomyosarcomas. Clinical implications

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Pathology & Oncology Research

Abstract

We investigated the expression of P-glycoprotein (P-GP) and metallothionein (MT) in a series of 92 GIST and 14 gastrointestinal leiomyosarcomas (GILMS) with the purpose to expand our knowledge on the biological bases of GIST chemo-resistance and to ascertain their significance in patients’ prognosis. P-GP expression was more frequent in GIST than in GI-LMS (83.7% vs. 21.4%, p<0.001), with no difference between low-and high-risk GIST (p=1.000) or low-and high-grade GI-LMS (p=0.538). P-GP expression was unrelated to anatomic location (gastric vs. intestinal) in GIST (39/45 vs. 35/43, p=0.770) and in GI-LMS (0/2 vs. 2/6, p=1.000). MT expression was non-significantly higher in GI-LMS than in GIST (35.7% vs. 14.1%, p=0.060), with no difference between low-and high-risk GIST (p=1.000) or low-and high-grade GI-LMS (p=1.000). MT expression was unrelated to the anatomic location (gastric vs. intestinal) in GIST (7/45 vs. 6/43) and GI-LMS (0/2 vs. 1/6) (p=1.000 and p=0.1000, respectively). Overall tumor-specific survival (p< 0.001) and disease-free survival (p<0.001) were different in GIST as compared with GI-LMS, and the number of events was higher in GI-LMS. When the survival analysis took into consideration P-GP or MT expression, the overall survival in GIST was influenced by the expression of MT (p=0.021) but not by that of P-GP (p=0.638). However, in GI-LMS, P-GP expression influenced disease-free survival (p=0.050); in addition, it is important to recognize the limited value of these results because of the low number of cases involved in the study. Differential expression of P-GP and MT might explain the known variability in response to systemic chemotherapy in these tumors. Detection of P-GP and MT seems to add certain prognostic value in GIST (MT) or GI-LMS (P-GP).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pathology Service, Juan Ramon Jiménez Hospital, Huelva

    Sofia Pérez-Gutiérrez

  2. Department of Pathology, Virgen Macarena University Hospital and University of Seville Medical School, Seville

    Ricardo González-Cámpora, Maria Sánchez-León & María Jesús Pareja Megía

  3. Pathology Service, Hospital Torrecárdenas, Almería

    Joaquín Amérigo-Navarro

  4. Department of Statistic and Operations Research, University of Seville, Seville

    Antonio Beato-Moreno

  5. Oncology Service, Virgen Macarena University Hospital, Seville

    Juan Antonio Virizuela-Echaburu

  6. Department of Pathology, Reina Sofia University Hospital and Córdoba University Medical School, Córdoba, Spain

    Antonio López-Beltrán

Authors
  1. Sofia Pérez-Gutiérrez
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  2. Ricardo González-Cámpora
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  3. Joaquín Amérigo-Navarro
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  4. Antonio Beato-Moreno
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  5. Maria Sánchez-León
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  6. María Jesús Pareja Megía
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  7. Juan Antonio Virizuela-Echaburu
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  8. Antonio López-Beltrán
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Correspondence to Ricardo González-Cámpora.

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Pérez-Gutiérrez, S., González-Cámpora, R., Amérigo-Navarro, J. et al. Expression of P-glycoprotein and metallothionein in gastrointestinal stromal tumor and leiomyosarcomas. Clinical implications. Pathol. Oncol. Res. 13, 203–208 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02893500

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02893500

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