EXPRESSION OF RESISTANCE-RELATED PROTEINS IN TUMORAL AND PERITUMORAL TISSUES OF PATIENTS WITH LUNG-CANCER

Twenty tumoral and peritumoral tissues from patients with lung cancer were analyzed immunohistochemically for the drug resistance-related pr oteins P-glycoprotein (P-170), topoisomerase II (Topo-II), glutathione S-transferase-pi (GST-pi), metallothionein (MT), heat shock protein-7 0 (HSP-70) and the putative regulators of resistance (ErbB1, Fos and J un). Protein expression of Topo-II, GST-pi, MT, HSP-70, ErbB1, Fos and Jun was elevated in tumor tissue in comparison to normal tissue. The different expression of the proteins between tumoral and normal tissue s was statistically significant for Topo-II (P = 0.05), MT (P = 0.03), and HSP-70 (P = 0.01), whereas ErbB1 showed a borderline significance . The expression of the proteins was frequently increased in smokers i n comparison to non-smokers. In general, the increase of the proteins of smokers corresponded in tumoral and non-tumoral tissue. Different e xpression was only found with MT and HSP-70 which were higher in tissu es of smokers.