Summary
In an attempt to further define the clinical utility of p-glycoprotein immunostaining in breast cancer, we examined 101 specimens from patients with advanced breast cancer. There was a significant correlation between estrogen receptor status and p-glycoprotein expression but only for low levels of p-glycoprotein. Premenopausal status appeared to correlate with increased p-glycoprotein expression, but this probably reflects patient selection as premenopausal patients had higher prior exposure to anthracyclines and were more likely to have received chemotherapy as initial treatment. P-glycoprotein expression was highly significantly correlated with expression of the proliferation related antigen Ki67, suggesting that p-glycoprotein expression may well be cell cycle dependent, with overexpression occurring in rapidly cycling cells. These findings may explain reported findings of modulation of p-glycoprotein expression by agents such as anti-oestrogens. P-glycoprotein positive staining did not, however, predict chemotherapy treatment failure or survival duration.
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Seymour, L., Bezwoda, W.R. & Dansey, R.D. P-glycoprotein immunostaining correlates with ER and with high Ki67 expression but fails to predict anthracycline resistance in patients with advanced breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Tr 36, 61–69 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00690186
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00690186