Tumor Protein Predicts Response to Chemotherapy in Patients With Esophageal Cancer
Patients with the most common type of esophageal cancer are less likely to respond to chemotherapy when their tumors are high in a protein called leptin, according to a study by Bain et al published in the British Journal of Cancer.
Study Details
Researchers from the University of Aberdeen studied more than 150 patients with gastroesophageal adenocarcinomas and found that those tumors with higher amounts of leptin, which is produced by fat cells, were less likely to be shrunk by chemotherapy. Patients whose tumors had low levels of the leptin protein were more likely to benefit from chemotherapy.
Researchers also found that while patients with tumors high in leptin responded poorly to chemotherapy, they did have better survival rates regardless of treatment, whereas those with less leptin were more likely to have more aggressive tumors.
Findings Open Door for Tailored Treatments
The researchers believe that measuring levels of leptin could help doctors decide which patients with esophageal cancer would benefit from chemotherapy and may even be a target for new drug treatments. It may also help explain the link between increased body weight and increased esophageal cancer risk.
Russell Petty, MBChB, PhD, MRCP (UK), MRCP (London), FRCP (Edin), a consultant medical oncologist and study author, said, “Our work suggests that having low levels of leptin means that the tumor is more likely to be aggressive but also that it is more likely to respond well to chemotherapy. Knowing who will benefit most from chemotherapy will prevent many patients from undergoing treatment unnecessarily, and could allow us to try alternative, and potentially more effective, treatments in patients in whom chemotherapy is unlikely to be successful—essentially tailoring the treatment to individual patients.
“Esophageal cancers, particularly adenocarcinomas, are on the rise in the United Kingdom and we desperately need to do more research to help improve the outcome for our patients, which remains relatively poor,” added.
Martin Ledwick, MSc, Head Information Nurse of Cancer Research UK, said, “We know that chemotherapy does not help all esophageal cancer patients, so any research that helps us understand who to target with other types of therapy will be a big help to doctors.”
The study was funded by The Friends of Aberdeen and the North Centre for Oncology, Haematology, and Radiotherapy, The Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office, the Grampian Gastro-oesophageal Cancer Research Fund, and National Health Service Grampian Research and Development.
The content in this post has not been reviewed by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Inc. (ASCO®) and does not necessarily reflect the ideas and opinions of ASCO®.
