Background: The transport protein P-glycoprotein, which is encoded by the multidrug-resistance ABCB1 gene, is crucially involved in the export of taxanes and other cytotoxic substances out of the cell. Treatment response to paclitaxel has been shown to correlate with ABCB1 gene polymorphisms. Data regarding the prognostic value of ABCB1 gene polymorphisms in ovarian cancer patients is conflicting.
Materials and methods: The present study evaluates the association of two common ABCB1 gene polymorphisms, namely G2677T/A in exon 21 (rs2032582) and C3435T in exon 26 (rs1045642), and survival in 106 Caucasian women with ovarian cancer.
Results: The two ABCB1 gene polymorphisms (G2677T/A and C3435T) were associated neither with disease-free (p=0.8 and p=0.9, respectively) nor with overall survival (p=0.9 and p=0.9, respectively). Tumor stage (p=0.01; p=0.01) and residual tumor mass (p=0.005; p=0.01), but not tumor grade and age at diagnosis were associated with disease-free and overall survival, respectively, in a multivariate analysis. Haplotype analysis did not reveal any association between the combined effect of the two gene polymorphisms and survival.
Conclusion: In the present study, ABCB1 G2677T/A and ABCB1 C3435T gene polymorphisms were not found to be associated with prognosis in Caucasian women with ovarian cancer.