Abstract
Current treatment of high-grade osteosarcoma combines surgical removal of the lesion with chemotherapy. In this study we evaluated whether the expression of P-glycoprotein, a protein closely associated with multidrug resistance, may be helpful in identifying the patients whose tumours will be further resistant to specific agents. By using multidrug-resistant osteosarcoma cell lines as standards, the expression of P-glycoprotein was evaluated in 105 cases of primary and metastatic osteosarcoma by semiquantitative immunofluorescence. Overexpression of the protein was shown in 23% of primary and in 50% of metastatic lesions. In 38 cases, homogeneously treated and followed-up for at least 24 months, overexpression of P-glycoprotein appeared to be associated with a higher relapse rate and with a trend toward a worse outcome. These data support the role of P-glycoprotein in the response to chemotherapy and its involvement in the determination of the outcome of osteosarcoma patients.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1998-2002 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | European Journal of Cancer |
Volume | 31 |
Issue number | 12 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1995 |
Keywords
- chemotherapy
- immunofluorescence
- multidrug resistance
- osteosarcoma
- P-glycoprotein
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Cancer Research
- Oncology
- Hematology