RESUMO
Chemotherapy plays a key role in improving disease-free survival and overall survival of gastric cancer (GC); however, response rates are variable and a non-negligible proportion of patients undergo toxic and costly chemotherapeutic regimens without a survival benefit. Several studies have shown the existence of GC subtypes which may predict survival and respond differently to chemotherapy. It is also known that the expression level of chemotherapy-related and target therapy-related genes correlates with response to specific antitumor drugs. Nevertheless, these genes have not been considered jointly to define GC subtypes. In this study, we evaluated seven genes known to influence chemotherapeutic response (ERCC1, BRCA1, RRM1, TUBB3, STMN1, TYMS and TOP2A) and five receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) (EGFR, ERBB2, PDGFRB, VEGFR1 and VEGFR2). We demonstrate significant heterogeneity of gene expression among GC patients and identified four GC subtypes using the expression profiles of eight genes in two co-regulation groups: chemosensitivity (BRCA1, STMN1, TYMS and TOP2A) and RTKs (EGFR, PDGFRB, VEGFR1 and VEGFR2). The results are of immediate translational value regarding GC diagnostics and therapeutics, as many of these genes are curently widely used in relevant clinical testing.
RESUMO
A novel monoclonal antibody (mAb), known as AC10364, was identified from an antibody library generated by immunization of mice with human carcinoma cells. The mAb recognized proteins in lysates from multiple carcinoma cell lines. Cell cytotoxicity assays showed that AC10364 significantly inhibited cell growth and induced apoptosis in multiple carcinoma cell lines, including Bel/fu, KATO-III and A2780. Compared with mAb AC10364 or chemotherapeutic drugs alone, the combination of mAb AC10364 with chemotherapeutic drugs demonstrated enhanced growth inhibitory effects on carcinoma cells. These results suggest that mAb AC10364 is a promising candidate for cancer therapy.