As the world celebrates Lung Cancer Awareness Month, a new study shows that a certain type of protein can be used to determine if a lung cancer patient will respond positively to chemotherapy.

Patients who were subjected to chemotherapy and surgery were found to significantly improve survival rates when their tumor is lacking the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein, or pRB, according to researchers from the Lawson Health Research Institute in London. The team says this new information is useful as it may predict which patients will respond best to chemotherapy.

The RB protein is traditionally known for its role in helping to regulate cell division, which prevents the growth of abnormal cells. Dr Matthew Cecchini, a pathology resident at the London Health Sciences Centre, wanted to see if there was an association between the small percentage of lung cancer patients who do not have this protein and long-term survivors.

Cecchini and a team of researchers, under the leadership of Lawson’s Dr Fred Dick, analysed 91 lung cancer patients who underwent chemotherapy and surgery. They found that among the patients they have studied, 15 percent did not have pRB. These patients experienced a higher survival rate of 92 percent at five years, compared to those who showed the protein, who had an average survival rate of 49 percent.

“These results are surprising because pRB has traditionally been understood to be a suppressor of tumor growth. This study illustrates that the absence of pRB actually results in improved outcomes for those adenocarcinoma patients who undergo chemotherapy and surgery,” Dick said.

The team points out that it is important to understand which patients respond best to chemotherapy since the treatment is known to produce harsh effects on the human body. Their findings, which are detailed in the journal Human Pathology, indicate that testing for the presence of pRB can be administered to identify the best treatment option for each patient.

For their next steps, the researchers will test their findings in a larger patient cohort, Dick says. The team will also be looking at the underlying mechanisms of pRB to understand what makes these patients more responsive to chemotherapy. This will help the researchers to further improve treatment and outcomes, Dick added.

According to Cancer Australia, lung cancer was the fifth most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia in 2011, and is estimated to maintain its ranking in 2015. In 2012, lung cancer accounted for the highest number of deaths from cancer in Australia. It is estimated that it will remain the most common cause of death from cancer in 2015.

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