Skip to main content
Japanese Journal of Cancer Research : Gann logoLink to Japanese Journal of Cancer Research : Gann
. 1998 Feb;89(2):214–220. doi: 10.1111/j.1349-7006.1998.tb00551.x

Absence of p53 Overexpression and Favorable Response to Cisplatin‐based Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Urothelial Carcinomas

Yoshiyuki Kakehi 1, Enver Özdemir 1, Tomonori Habuchi 1, Hirohiko Yamabe 2, Takayuki Hashimura 3, Yoshitaka Katsura 4, Osamu Yoshida 1,
PMCID: PMC5921759  PMID: 9548450

Abstract

It has been controversial whether cancer cells harboring loss or inactivation of the tumor suppressor p53 are resistant or sensitive to DNA‐damaging agents including cisplatin and doxorubicin. Overexpression of mdm2 oncoprotein, a negative regulator of p53, is assumed to be an alternative to p53 dysfunction. Archival urothelial carcinoma specimens obtained from 60 patients prior to cisplatin‐based chemotherapy were immunohistochemically studied for overexpression of p53 and mdm2. Thirty‐two patients (group I) were treated with chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant setting, while 28 patients (group II) underwent chemotherapy for distant metastases or inoperable locoregional tumors. In group I, the responsiveness was correlated with staining status of p53 (P=0.0225) and the combination of p53 and mdm2 (P=0.0497). Negative staining of p53 and negative for both p53 and mdm2 could have predicted favorable response to chemotherapy in 16 of 18 (88.9%) and in 12 of 13 (92.3%) tumors, respectively. On the other hand, p53‐positive and p53 and/or mdm2‐positive staining could have predicted poor response only in 7 of 14 (50.0%) and 8 of 19 (42.1%) tumors, respectively. Disease‐specific survival of the p53‐negative group was significantly superior to that of the p53‐positive group (P=0.0086). Difference in survival did not become more significant when overexpression of mdm2 was taken into consideration (P=0.0456). In contrast, in group II, there was no correlation of responsiveness to chemotherapy or survival with p53‐ or p53/mdm2‐staining status. The patients with urothelial carcinomas negative for overexpression of p53 will benefit from neoadjuvant chemotherapy. From clinical viewpoint, however, p53 status alone or the combination of p53 and mdm2 status is not enough to identify those patients who will not benefit from the treatment.

Keywords: Urothelial cancer, Chemosensitivity, p53, mdm2

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (83.1 KB).

REFERENCES

  • 1. ) Sternberg , C. N. , Yagoda , A. , Scher , H.I. , Watson , R. C. , Herr , H. W. , Morse , M. J. , Sogani , P. C. , Vaughan , E. D.Jr. , Bander , N. , Weiselberg , L. R. , Geller , N. , Hollander , P. S. , Lipperman , R. , Fair , W. and Whitmore , W. F. , Jr.MVAC (methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin and cis‐platin) for advanced transitional cell carcinoma of the urothelium . J. Urol. , 139 , 461 – 469 ( 1988. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 2. ) Logothetis , C. J. , Dexeus , F. H. , Finn , L. , Sella , A. , Amato , R. J. , Ayala , A. G. and Kilbourn , R. G.A prospective randomized trial comparing MVAC and CISCA chemotherapy for patients with metastatic urothelial tumors . J. Clin. Oncol. , 8 , 1050 – 1055 ( 1990. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 3. ) Kaufmann , S. H.Induction of endonucleolytic DNA cleavage in human acute myelogenous leukemia cells by etoposide, camptothecin, and other cytotoxic anticancer drugs: a cautionary note . Cancer Res. , 49 , 5870 – 5878 ( 1989. ). [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 4. ) Dive , C. and Hickman , J. A.Drug‐target interactions: only the first step in the commitment to a programmed cell death ? Br. J. Cancer , 64 , 192 – 196 ( 1991. ). [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 5. ) Fisher , D. E.Apoptosis in cancer therapy: crossing the threshold . Cell , 78 , 539 – 542 ( 1994. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 6. ) Lowe , S. W. , Ruley , H. E. , Jacks , T. and Housman , D. E.p53‐dependent apoptosis modulates the cytotoxicity of anti‐cancer agents . Cell , 74 , 957 – 967 ( 1993. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 7. ) Clarke , A. R. , Purdie , C. A. and Harrison , D. J.Thymocyte apoptosis induced by p53‐dependent and independent pathways . Nature , 362 , 849 – 852 ( 1993. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 8. ) Smith , M. L. , Chen , I. T. , Zhan , Q. , Bae , I. , Chen , C.‐Y. , Gilmer , T. M. , Kastan , M. B. , O'Connor , P. M. and Fornace , A. J. , Jr.Interaction of the p53‐regulated protein Gadd 45 with proliferating cell nuclear antigen . Science , 266 , 1376 – 1380 ( 1994. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 9. ) Momand , J. , Zambetti , G. P. , Olson , D. C. , George , D. and Levine , A. J.The mdm‐2 oncogene product forms a complex with the p53 protein and inhibits p53 mediated trans‐activation . Cell , 69 , 1237 – 1245 ( 1992. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 10. ) Lianes , P. , Orlow , I. , Zhang , Z. F. , Oliva , M. R. , Sarkis , A. S. , Reuter , V. E. and Cordon‐Cardo , C.Altered patterns of MDM2 and TP53 expression in human bladder cancer . J. Natl. Cancer Inst. , 86 , 1325 – 1330 ( 1994. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 11. ) Barbareschi , M. , Girlando , S. , Fellin , G. , Graffer , U. , Luciani , L. and Dalla Palma , P.Expression of mdm‐2 and p53 protein in transitional cell carcinoma . Urol. Res. , 22 , 349 – 352 ( 1995. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 12. ) Habuchi , T. , Kinoshita , H. , Yamada , H. , Kakehi , Y. , Ogawa , O. , Wu , W.‐J. , Takahashi , R. , Sugiyama , T. and Yoshida , O.Oncogene amplification in urothelial cancers with p53 gene mutation or MDM2 amplification . J. Natl. Cancer Inst. , 86 , 1331 – 1335 ( 1994. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 13. ) Özdemir , E. , Kakehi , Y. , Okuno , H. , Habuchi , T. , Okada , Y. and Yoshida , O.Strong correlation of basement membrane degradation with p53 inactivation and/or mdm2 overexpression in superficial urothelial carcinomas . J. Urol. , 158 , 206 – 211 ( 1997. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 14. ) Kondo , S. , Barnett , G. H. , Hara , H. , Morimura , T. and Takeuchi , J.MDM2 protein confers the resistance of a human glioblastoma cell line to cisplatin‐induced apoptosis . Oncogene , 10 , 2001 – 2006 ( 1995. ). [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 15. ) Fujiwara , T. , Grimm , E. A. , Mukhopadhyay , T. , Zhang , W. W. , Owen Schaub , L. B. and Roth , J. A.Induction of chemosensitivity in human lung cancer cells in vivo by adenovirus‐mediated transfer of the wild‐type p53 gene . Cancer Res. , 54 , 2287 – 2291 ( 1994. ). [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 16. ) Lowe , S. W. , Bodis , S. , McClatchey , A. , Remington , L. , Ruley , H. E. , Fisher , D. E. , Housman , D. E. and Jacks , T.p53 status and the efficacy of cancer therapy in vivo . Science , 266 , 807 – 810 ( 1994. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 17. ) Waldman , T. , Lengauer , C. , Kinzler , K. W. and Vogelstein , B.Uncoupling of S phase and mitosis induced by anticancer agents in cells lacking p21 . Nature , 381 , 713 – 716 ( 1996. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 18. ) Koechli , O. , Schaer , G. N. , Seifert , B. , Hornung , R. , Haller , U. , Eppenberger , U. and Mueller , H.Mutant p53 protein associated with chemosensitivity in breast cancer specimens . Lancet , 344 , 1647 – 1648 ( 1994. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 19. ) Rusch , V. , Klimstra , D. , Venkatraman , E. , Oliver , J. , Martini , N. , Gralla , R. , Kris , M. and Dmitrovsky , E.Aberrant p53 expression predicts clinical resistance to cis‐platin‐based chemotherapy in locally advanced non‐small cell lung cancer . Cancer Res. , 55 , 5038 – 5042 ( 1995. ). [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 20. ) Sarkis , A. S. , Bajorin , D. F. , Reuter , V. E. , Herr , H. W. , Zhang , Z.‐F. , Schultz , P. K. , Cordon‐Cardo , C. and Scher , H. I.Prognostic value of p53 nuclear overexpression in patients with invasive bladder cancer treated with neoadjuvant MVAC . J. Clin. Oncol. , 13 , 1384 – 1390 ( 1995. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 21. ) Cote , R. J. , Esrig , D. , Groschen , S. , Jones , P. A. and Skinner , D.p53 and treatment of bladder cancer . Nature , 385 , 123 – 124 ( 1997. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 22. ) Japanese Urological Association and the Japanese Society of Pathology . “General Rule for Clinical and Pathological Studies on Bladder Cancer ,” 2nd Ed. ( 1993. ). Kanahara Co. , Tokyo . [Google Scholar]
  • 23. ) Japanese Urological Association and the Japanese Society of Pathology . “General Rule for Clinical and Pathological Studies on Renal Pelvic and Ureteral Cancer ,” 1st Ed. ( 1990. ). Kanahara Co. , Tokyo . [Google Scholar]
  • 24. ) Iggo , R. , Gatter , K. , Bartek , J. , Lane , D. and Harris , A. L.Increased expression of mutant forms of p53 oncogene in primary lung cancer . Lancet , 335 , 675 – 679 ( 1990. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 25. ) Maestro , R. , Dolcetti , R. , Gasparotto , D. , Doglioni , C. , Pelucchi , S. , Barzan , L. , Grandi , E. and Boiocchi , M.High frequency of p53 gene alterations associated with protein overexpression in human squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx . Oncogene , 7 , 1159 – 1166 ( 1992. ). [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 26. ) Sjögren , S. , Inganäs , M. , Norberg , T. , Lindgren , A. , Nordgren , H. , Holmberg , L. and Bergh , J.The p53 gene in breast cancer; prognostic value of complementary DNA sequencing versus immunohistochemistry . J. Natl. Cancer Inst. , 88 , 173 – 182 ( 1996. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 27. ) Esrig , D. , Spruck , C. H. , 3rd , Nichols , P. W. , Chaiwun , B. , Steven , K. , Groshen , S. , Chen , S. C. , Skinner , D. G. , Jones , P. A. and Cote , R. J.p53 nuclear protein accumulation correlates with mutations in the p53 gene, tumor grade, and stage in bladder cancer . Am. J. Pathol. , 143 , 1389 – 1397 ( 1993. ). [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 28. ) Esrig , D. , Elmajian , D. , Groshen , S. , Freeman , J. A. , Stein , J. P. , Chen , S.‐C. , Nichols , P. W. , Skinner , D. G. , Jones , P. A. and Cote , R. J.Accumulation of nuclear p53 and tumor progression in bladder cancer . N. Engl. J. Med. 331 , 1259 – 1264 ( 1994. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 29. ) Habuchi , T. , Takahashi , R. , Yamada , H. , Ogawa , O. , Kakehi , Y. , Ogura , K. , Hamazaki , S. , Toguchida , J. , Ishizaki , K. , Fujita , J. , Sugiyama , T. and Yoshida , O.Influence of cigarette smoking and schistosomiasis on p53 gene mutation in urothelial cancer . Cancer Res. , 53 , 3795 – 3799 ( 1993. ). [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 30. ) Fujimoto , K. , Yamada , Y. , Okajima , E. , Kakizoe , T. , Sasaki , H. , Sugimura , T. and Terada , M.Frequent association of p53 gene mutations in invasive bladder cancer . Cancer Res. , 52 , 1393 – 1398 ( 1992. ). [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 31. ) Cordon‐Cardo , C. , Latres , E. , Drobnjak , M. , Oliva , M. R. , Pollack , D. , Woodruff , J. M. , Marechal , V. , Chen , J. , Brennan , M. F. and Levine , A. J.Molecular abnormalities of mdm2 and p53 genes in adult soft tissue sarcomas . Cancer Res. , 54 , 794 – 799 ( 1994. ). [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Japanese Journal of Cancer Research : Gann are provided here courtesy of Wiley

RESOURCES