Association of Drug Transporter Expression with Mortality and Progression-Free Survival in Stage IV Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0108908
• Publication Date: 2014-10-02T18:12:22Z
• Authors: Rolf Warta; Dirk Theile; Carolin Mogler; Esther Herpel; Niels Grabe; Bernd Lahrmann; Peter K. Plinkert; Christel Herold-M...; Johanna Weiss; Gerhard Dyckhoff
• Keywords: Abcg2; Multidrug Resistance-Associated Proteins; ABCC1

Drug transporters such as P-glycoprotein (ABCB1) have been associated with chemotherapy resistance and are considered unfavorable prognostic factors for survival of cancer patients. Analyzing mRNA expression levels a subset drug by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) or protein tissue microarray (TMA) in tumor samples therapy naïve stage IV head neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) (qRT-PCR, n = 40; TMA, 61), this situ study re-examined the significance transporter progression-free (PFS) overall (OS). Data from The Cancer Genome Atlas database was used to externally validate respective findings (n 317). In general, HNSCC tended lower compared normal epithelium. High ABCB1 both favorable (PFS, p 0.0357) (OS, 0.0535). Similar results were obtained ABCC1 (MRP1, multidrug resistance-associated 1; PFS, 0.0183; OS, 0.038). contrast, ATP7b (copper ATP7b), ABCG2 (BCRP, breast protein), ABCC2 (MRP2), SLC31A1 (hCTR1, human copper 1) did not correlate survival. Cluster analysis however revealed that simultaneous high SLC31A1, ABCC2, indicates poor conclusion, militates against intuitive dogma where efflux survival, but demonstrates single might indicate even improved Prospectively, combined 'transportome' should rather be performed it likely unravels meaningful data on impact patients HNSCC.