Identification of Sensitivity Predictors of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for the Treatment of Adenocarcinoma of Gastroesophageal Junction

The identification of reliable predictors of chemotherapy sensitivity and early screening of adenocarcinoma of gastroesophageal junction (AGEJ) patients who are resistant to chemotherapy has become an important area of clinical and translational research. We aimed to investigate the predictive value of seven cancer-associated cellular proteins for neoadjuvant chemotherapy in AGEJ patients. Clinical data of 93 patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy for locally advanced AGEJ between June 2010 and December 2014 were reviewed. All patients were administered the combination regimen of S-1 and oxaliplatin (SOX). Expression of P-glycoprotein (P-gp), glutathione S-transferase-π (GST-π), topoisomerase II (topo II), multidrug resistance gene-associated protein (MRP), lung resistance-related protein (LRP), Ki-67, and p53 was determined by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in AGEJ tissues before neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Chemotherapeutic efficacy was evaluated according to RECIST 1.0 standards and histopathological results, and the relationship between the expression of the cellular proteins and chemotherapy efficacy was analyzed. The SOX regimen was associated with an overall response rate of 46.2%. The frequency of expression of the seven cancer-associated factors in the AGEJ tissues was as follows: P-gp, 64.5%; GST-π, 39.8%; topo II, 72.0%; MRP, 33.3%; LRP, 68.8%; Ki-67, 62.4%; and p53, 40.9%. Expression of Ki-67 (p = 0.003) and p53 (p = 0.009) was significantly correlated with chemotherapy sensitivity. Elevated Ki-67 expression and decreased p53 expression predict for SOX insensitivity in AGEJ, and the cellular expression of these respective proteins may provide a useful reference for designing individualized chemotherapy regimens for AGEJ patients in the future.