hGBP-1 Expression Predicts Shorter Progression-Free Survival in Ovarian Cancers, While Contributing to Paclitaxel Resistance

Ovarian cancer is the gynecological cancer with the poorest prognosis. One significant reason is the development of resistance to the chemotherapeutic drugs used in its treatment. The large GTPase, hGBP-1, has been implicated in paclitaxel resistance in ovarian cell lines. Forced expression of hGBP-1 in SKOV3 ovarian cancer cells protects them from paclitaxel-induced cell death. However, prior to this study, nothing was known about whether hGBP-1 was expressed in ovarian tumors and whether its expression correlated with paclitaxel resistance. hGBP-1 is expressed in 17% of ovarian tumors from patients that have not yet received treatment. However, at least 80% of the ovarian tumors that recurred after therapies that included a tax-ane, either paclitaxel or docetaxel, were positive for hGBP-1. In addition, hGBP-1 expression predicts a significantly shorter progression-free survival in ovarian cancers. Based on these studies, hGBP-1 could prove to be a potential biomarker for paclitaxel resistance in ovarian cancer.