Plasma heat shock protein 90 alpha: A valuable predictor of early chemotherapy effectiveness in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer

Abstract

Background: Heat shock protein-90 alpha (HSP90a) is more abundant in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients than in control individuals. However, whether it can reflect chemotherapy efficacy remains unknown. This study aimed to investigate the association of HSP90a with chemotherapy in advanced NSCLC. Material/Methods: We retrospectively evaluated data from patients admitted to the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Shaoxing People's Hospital, from September 2016 to September 2018 with stage IIIB or IV NSCLC and administered 4 cycles of third-generation platinum-based combination chemotherapy (2 drugs simultaneously). Based on the RECIST1.1 criteria, complete remission (CR), partial response (PR), and stable disease (SD) in 60 cases were determined before and after chemotherapy. Before chemotherapy and after 1, 2, and 4 cycles of chemotherapy, plasma HSP90a levels were quantitated by ELISA. Chest CT was performed before and after 2 and 4 cycles of chemotherapy. Results: After 1-4 cycles of chemotherapy, plasma HSP90a levels were significantly lower than pre-chemotherapy levels (P<0.05). The sums of the longest tumor diameters after 2 and 4 cycles of chemotherapy were decreased compared with pre-chemotherapy values (P<0.05). Plasma HSP90a levels and tumor size showed no significant correlation before and after chemotherapy (r=0.244, P=0.06). Conclusions: Plasma HSP90a can be considered a valuable predictor of early chemotherapy effectiveness in advanced NSCLC, and is positively correlated with tumor remission after chemotherapy. However, plasma HSP90a level is not correlated with tumor diameter and pathological type.