COX-2 Overexpression (cox-2 + overexpression)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Overexpression of cyclooxygenase-2 is associated with chemoradiotherapy resistance and prognosis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients

DISEASES OF THE ESOPHAGUS, Issue 8 2008
W.-Z. Huang
SUMMARY Our objective was to investigate whether cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression can predict the patient's response to chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and ensuing prognosis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The clinicopathological and follow-up data of 112 patients with ESCC who underwent CRT from January 2001 to June 2006 were analyzed retrospectively. The immunohistochemical expression level of COX-2 was examined for all biopsy specimens of primary tumors, and the correlation of COX-2 expression with the patient's response to CRT and prognosis was examined. COX-2 positive immunostaining was detected in 111 (99.1%) of the patients, including overexpression in 54 (48.2%) patients and low expression in 58 (51.8%) of the patients. The response of tumors with a low level expression of COX-2 (70.7%, 41/58) was significantly higher than that of tumors with COX-2 overexpression (42.6%, 23/54; P = 0.003). Patients with a low level of COX-2 expression had a higher downstaged rate than those with a high level of COX-2 expression (9/13 vs 2/8), but the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.08). In the definitive CRT group (91 cases), COX-2 overexpression was significantly associated with poor 3-year overall survival (P = 0.028). Multivariate analysis showed that only metastatic stage (nonregional node metastasis) was an independent prognosis factor. The assessment of COX-2 status may provide additional information to identify ESCC patients with poor chances of response to CRT and potential candidates for more individualized treatment. [source]


Prediction of poor survival by cyclooxygenase-2 in patients with T4 nasopharyngeal cancer treated by radiation therapy: Clinical and in vitro studies

HEAD & NECK: JOURNAL FOR THE SCIENCES & SPECIALTIES OF THE HEAD AND NECK, Issue 6 2005
Wen-Cheng Chen MD
Abstract Background. This study was undertaken to determine the status of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) in Taiwanese patients and its relationship to survival after radiotherapy (RT). In addition, the effect of NS-398, a potent selective COX-2 inhibitor, was tested in vitro alone and in combination with radiation on NPC-BM1 human NPC cells as a prelude to using this drug along with RT in the treatment of patients with NPC. Methods. Thirty-seven patients diagnosed with T4N0,3M0 NPC were enrolled into this study. COX-2 expression was determined by immunohistochemical staining of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor tissue. Patient survival was the clinical end point. The effects of COX-2 expression on cell survival and radioresistance was tested in vitro using the selective COX-2 inhibitor NS-398 in conjunction with 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazonium bromide (MTT) and clonogenic assays. Results. COX-2 immunoreactivity was detected in 62% of NPC tumors, and expression levels were high in 43%. Survival analysis showed the 5-year overall survival rates for patients who had high COX-2 expression was 27% compared with 60% for those with low/absent expression (p = .047). Pattern of failure analysis showed no significant difference between high and low COX-2 expression in locoregional failure (27% vs 25%, p = .91). However, patients with N0 to N1 disease and high COX-2 expression had a significantly higher incidence of distant metastasis compared with patients with stage N0 to N1 disease and low COX-2 expression (83% vs 15%, p = .004). This difference was not observed in patients with N2 to N3 disease. This difference contributed to worse survival of patients whose tumors had high COX-2 expression levels. The selective COX-2 inhibitor NS-398 was directly cytotoxic to NPC-BM1 cells in vitro, as judged in an MTT assay (viable cells decreased from 92% to 76%, 52%, and 22%, with increases of NS-398 from 20 to 40, 60, and 80 ,M, respectively). Radiation-induced cell death was also increased by treatment with NS-398. At a 10% survival level, 40 ,M NS-398 increased radiation cytotoxicity by a factor of 1.37, whereas 60 ,M increased it by a factor of 4.9. Conclusions. COX-2 overexpression is a predictor for poor survival for advanced stage NPC. In vitro, NS-398 radiosensitizes the NPC-BM1 cell line, providing a basis for testing the combination of COX-2 inhibitors with radiation in the treatment of patients with NPC. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck27: XXX,XXX, 2005 [source]


Pathogenesis of Helicobacter pylori Infection

HELICOBACTER, Issue 2006
Masanori Hatakeyama
Abstract Much interest has been shown in the relationship between Helicobacter pylori infection and gastric carcinogenesis. It is becoming clearer that H. pylori strains carrying a functional cag pathogenicity island (cagPAI), which encodes the type IV secretion system (TFSS) and its effector CagA, play an important role in the development of gastric carcinoma. Furthermore, genetic polymorphism present in the cagA gene appears to influence the degree of an individual cagPAI-positive H. pylori to elicit gastric mucosal lesions, and this process is significantly affected by host genetic polymorphisms such as proinflammatory cytokine gene polymorphisms. Pathomechanism of gastric carcinogenesis associated with H. pylori includes bacteria,host interaction leading to morphologic alterations such as atrophic gastritis and gastrointestinal metaplasia mediated by COX-2 overexpression, cancer cell invasion, and neo-angiogenesis via TLR2/TLR9 system and transcription factors (e.g., NF-,B) activation. In addition, H. pylori infection triggers adhesion molecule expression and activity and produces an enhancement in oxidative stress interacting with gastric production of appetite hormone ghrelin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. [source]


Somatic mutations of adenomatous polyposis coli gene and nuclear b-catenin accumulation have prognostic significance in invasive urothelial carcinomas: Evidence for Wnt pathway implication

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CANCER, Issue 1 2009
Efstathios Kastritis
Abstract Wnt pathway signaling is crucial in many cancers and data indicate crosstalk with other key cancer pathways, however in urothelial carcinogenesis it has not been extensively studied. We searched for mutations in adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), a key regulator of the pathway, and studied b-catenin expression and interactions with the expression of other markers of apoptosis, angiogenesis, and proliferation in patients with invasive urothelial cancer. The mutation cluster region of APC was directly sequenced in 70 patients with muscle invasive disease who were treated with surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy. COX-2, p53, Ki67, and b-catenin were studied immunohistochemically and micro vessel density was quantified by CD105 expression. Single somatic amino-acid substitutions (missense) were found in 9 (13%) and frameshift deletions in 2 (3%) tumors, all located in regions adjacent to b-catenin binding sites. Patients having either APC missense mutations or b-catenin nuclear accumulation had less frequent COX-2 overexpression (24% vs. 76%, p = 0.043) and more frequent lymph node involvement (75% vs. 38%, p = 0.023). Patients with either APC mutations or b-catenin accumulation had shorter disease-free interval (13.4 vs. 28 months, p = 0.07), whereas in multivariate analysis they had shorter disease-specific survival (60.5 vs. 20.6 months, p = 0.048). Somatic APC missense mutations are not rare in advanced urothelial neoplasms. Either APC mutations and/or aberrant expression of b-catenin are associated with worse outcome. Further study of the role of the Wnt pathway, potential crosstalk with other pathways and potential candidate therapeutic targets in urothelial cancer is needed. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Radiotherapy in laryngeal carcinoma: Can a panel of 13 markers predict response?,,

THE LARYNGOSCOPE, Issue 2 2009
Maarten A. M. Wildeman MD
Abstract Objectives/Hypothesis: To find biomarkers associated with response to radiotherapy in laryngeal cancer that can be used together with clinical parameters to improve outcome prediction. Methods: In this study, 26 patients irradiated for laryngeal carcinomas with a local recurrence within two years (cases) and 33 patients without recurrence (controls) were included. All pretreatment biopsies were arrayed onto a tissue array. Immunohistochemistry was performed for 13 biomarkers that were selected from the literature as potential predictors for radioresponse in head and neck (HN) cancer: Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, p16, p21, p27, p53, cyclin D1, HIF-1,, CA9, COX-2, EGFR, ki-67, and pRB. Results: Univariate logistic regression models showed borderline statistically significant increased relative risks, with positivity for CA9, COX-2, and p53. Goeman's global testing revealed an overall association between outcome and the 13 markers together with clinical variables. The most important markers were CA9 and COX-2. Conclusions: In laryngeal carcinoma, hypoxia and COX-2 overexpression provide a stronger contribution to an increased risk of local recurrence after radiotherapy compared with the well-known candidate markers p53, Bcl-2, and cyclin D1. However, no robust expression profile for the prediction of radioresistance was found. Laryngoscope, 2009 [source]


Cyclooxygenase-2 expression and connection with tumor recurrence and histopathologic parameters in gastrointestinal stromal tumors

APMIS, Issue 11 2009
HÜSEYIN KEMAL TÜRKÖZ
Tissue cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is a rate-limiting enzyme in prostaglandin synthesis and has been shown to have roles in carcinogenesis and tumor progression. Evaluation of COX-2 overexpression in malignancies has been performed mostly on tumors of epithelial origin, and little is known about its presence in mesenchymal tumors, especially gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). COX-2 has been reported to be widely expressed in GIST and has been suggested as a potential diagnostic marker. We evaluated the overexpression and roles of COX-2 in tumorigenesis in GIST with regard to its relation to prognostic parameters and tumor recurrence. We studied the presence of COX-2 expression immunohistochemically and its relation to clinicopathologic prognostic variables in 41 cases of GIST. COX-2 was overexpressed in 21 (51%) of 41 tumors. The extent of overexpression was greater in tumors that recurred after surgical resection. COX-2 overexpression was also higher in tumors with coagulative necrosis, high mitotic index and an infiltrative pattern of growth. The observation of greater COX-2 expression levels in GIST with unfavorable histopathologic variables is contrary to previous reports and consistent with the reported roles of COX-2 in carcinogenesis of epithelial malignancies. [source]