Kawano K, Goto H, Kanda T, Yanagisawa S
Department of Oncological Science (Oral and Maxillo-Facial Surgery Division), Faculty of Medicine, Oita Medical University, 1 Idaigaoka, Hasama-machi, Oita, 879-5593, Japan.
Int J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2003 Dec;32(6):633-7. doi: 10.1054/ijom.2002.0411.
Thymidylate synthase (TS), an enzyme involved in the DNA synthesis, is a critical target for fluoropyrimidines. We investigated the relationship between the level of tumoural TS expression and response to tegafur/uracil (UFT) in 26 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma. The patients received peroral administration of UFT alone preoperatively. In biopsy specimens, TS expression level was assessed by the immunohistochemical staining and graded as 1+, 2+ or 3+ according to the frequency of strongly-stained tumour cells. Out of 26 tumours, 10 (38.5%), 10 (38.5%) and 6 (23.1%) cases were categorized as 1+, 2+ and 3+, respectively. The response to UFT was histologically evaluated by a grading system according to the extent of degenerative or necrotic cancer cells in surgical specimens. Results showed patients with the lower TS expression had the higher response and there was a statistically significant association between TS expression and response to UFT (P=0.031). This finding suggests that TS expression is a predictor of chemosensitivity to UFT in oral squamous cell carcinomas.
胸苷酸合成酶（TS）是一种参与DNA合成的酶，是氟嘧啶的关键作用靶点。我们研究了26例口腔鳞状细胞癌患者肿瘤TS表达水平与对替加氟/尿嘧啶（UFT）反应之间的关系。患者术前单独口服UFT。在活检标本中，通过免疫组织化学染色评估TS表达水平，并根据强染色肿瘤细胞的频率分为1+、2+或3+。在26个肿瘤中，分别有10例（38.5%）、10例（38.5%）和6例（23.1%）被分类为1+、2+和3+。根据手术标本中变性或坏死癌细胞的程度，通过分级系统对UFT反应进行组织学评估。结果显示，TS表达较低的患者反应较高，TS表达与对UFT的反应之间存在统计学显著关联（P=0.031）。这一发现表明，TS表达是口腔鳞状细胞癌对UFT化疗敏感性的预测指标。
