Association of Expression Levels or Activation Status of STAT3 with Treatment Outcomes of Sunitinib in Patients with Renal Cell Carcinoma

• Yamamoto, Kazuhiro

• Hara, Takuto

• Nakagawa, Tsutomu

• Hirai, Midori

• Miyake, Hideaki

• Fujisawa, Masato

• Yano, Ikuko

Abstract

Background: The expression level of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) in tumor cells is reported to associate with response to therapy and with survival time in various types of cancer. Objective: This retrospective study aimed to elucidate the association of STAT3 expression in tumor cells with the therapeutic outcomes of sunitinib in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Patients and Methods: Patients with metastatic RCC who received sunitinib therapy were enrolled in this study. All patients underwent nephrectomy for RCC, and nephrectomy specimens were stained for STAT3 and phosphorylated STAT3 (p-STAT3) by immunohistochemistry. Results: We assessed 51 patients receiving sunitinib as a first-line therapy. STAT3 expression levels did not influence progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS); however, patients with p-STAT3-positive tumors exhibited significantly worse PFS compared with those with p-STAT3-negative tumors (log-rank test, P = 0.034). OS tended to be prolonged in patients with p-STAT3-negative tumors. Objective response rate or disease control rate based on the best overall response did not show a significant association with STAT3 or p-STAT3 expression. Univariate Cox proportional hazard regression analyses for clinical predictors revealed that p-STAT3 positivity significantly correlated with shorter PFS (hazard ratio [HR], 2.22, P = 0.041), whereas p-STAT3 expression was not related to the OS.ConclusionsActivated STAT3 in tumor tissues shows a significant association with poor prognosis in patients with RCC who received sunitinib as a first-line therapy, and positive p-STAT3 expression could be a potential biomarker for refractoriness to sunitinib therapy.

Journal

• Targeted Oncology

  Targeted Oncology 13 (3), 371-378, 2018-06

  Springer

Keywords

• Pharmacology (medical)
• Cancer Research
• Oncology

Details

• CRID: 1050294045369712000
• NII Article ID: 120006649622
• NII Book ID: AA12157617
• DOI: 10.1007/s11523-018-0563-4
• ISSN: 1776260X
• ISSN: 17762596
• HANDLE: 20.500.14094/90006150
• Web Site: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11523-018-0563-4/fulltext.html
• Web Site: http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11523-018-0563-4.pdf
• Text Lang: en
• Article Type: journal article
• Data Source:
  • IRDB
  • Crossref
  • CiNii Articles
  • KAKEN