Hsp27 may allow prediction of the response to single-agent vinorelbine chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer

One of the most valuable objectives for oncologists is the ability to predict patient response to chemotherapy before drugs are administered in order to maximise the therapeutic benefit of treatment whilst limiting the toxicity. This is particularly relevant in non-small cell lung cancer as the initial treatment decision is important due to the inherent drug resistance of many tumours and short survival times of patients. We established a homogeneous series of pre-treatment archival biopsy samples from patients receiving first-line single-agent vinorelbine for non-small cell lung cancer. Cases were selected following strict inclusion criteria and patient response was assessed using the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours guideline. The expression of 7 proteins was investigated and correlated with response data. Chi-square analysis revealed no association between expression of Bcl-2, Bcl-X-L, Bad, Bak, Bid or p53 proteins and response to vinorelbine therapy. There was a trend for Hsp27-positive tumours to show progression but this did not reach significance (p=0.068). The results suggest that Hsp27 expression may be useful as a predictor of response to single-agent vinorelbine chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer patients but a larger study is required to confirm this.