Plasma HMGB‐1 after the initial dose of epirubicin/docetaxel in cancer

• DOI: 10.1111/eci.12043
• Publication Date: 2013-01-05T14:16:40Z
• Authors: Tobias Arnold; Anna Michlmayr; Suzann Baumann; Christopher Burgh...; Ursula Pluschnig; Rupert Bartsch; Guenther Steger; Michael Gnant; Michael Bergmann; Thomas Bachleitne...; Rudolf Oehler
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Cell Survival; Breast Neoplasms; Docetaxel; Neoadjuvant Therapy; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Tumor Cells, Cultured; Humans; Female; Taxoids; Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; HMGB1 Protein; Biomarkers; Epirubicin

AbstractBackgroundThe response of breast cancer patients to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NCT) is highly heterogeneous, and reliable predictive instruments remain to be defined. High‐mobility group box‐1 (HMGB‐1) protein is a cell death marker, which is easily detectable in plasma. We hypothesized that the initial dose of NCT with epirubicin/docetaxel induces changes in plasma HMGB‐1 which could allow for an early prediction of response to therapy.Materials and methodsFirst, we analysed whether epirubicin/docetaxel releases HMGB‐1 from HCC1143 breast cancer cells in vitro. Thereafter, plasma HMGB‐1 levels before and 1–4 days after the first dose of epirubicin/docetaxel‐based NCT were determined in 41 breast cancer patients and correlated with pathological response to treatment.ResultsTreatment of HCC1143 cells with epirubicin/docetaxel resulted in a significant HMGB‐1 release in vitro. In vivo, HMGB‐1 levels increased significantly only in responders (pathological complete response or partial remission, n = 22) but not in nonresponders (stable or progressive disease, n = 19).ConclusionOur data suggest that early dynamic changes of plasma HMGB1 could be a promising biomarker to predict the final response to NCT in breast cancer patients.