Expression of ß-tubulin III and survivin in advance stage breast cancer correlates with chemotherapeutic effects of docetaxel.

ABSTRACT

AIMS: To investigate the relationship between the expression of ß-tubulin III and survivin in advanced breast cancers and chemotherapeutic effects of docetaxel. METHODS: Clinical pathological data of 74 patients with advanced breast cancer were retrospectively analyzed after docetaxel chemotherapy. Expression of ß-tubulin III and survivin was assessed by immunohistochemistry and analyzed with reference to therapeutical and adverse effects of docetaxel. RESULTS: The positive expression rate of ß-tubulin III was 38.1% (32/84), while that of survivin was 76.2% (64/84). The effective rate (complete response + partial response) was 52.4%. That for patients with the positive expression of ß-tubulin III or/and survivin was significantly lower than for those with negative expression (P<0.05). There were significant differences in the non-progression of median diseases, 1-year and 2-year survival rates of between the patients with positive and negative expression (P<0.05). The main side effects were myelosuppression, alimentary canal response and alopecia, no differences being observed between groups. CONCLUSIONS: The combined detection of ß-tubulin III and survivin is a predictive index for chemotherapy effects of docetaxel in metastatic breast cancer.