Cetuximab combined with cisplatin improves the prognosis of gastric cancer patients and its effect on P38 MAPK expression.

Abstract

PURPOSE:

To observe the clinical efficacy of cetuximab combined with cisplatin in gastric cancer patients, and to explore its potential mechanism so as to provide references for clinical chemotherapeutic drugs for gastric cancer.

METHODS:

A total of 122 gastric cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy in our hospital from August 2014 to June 2017 were enrolled and divided into cetuximab group (n=64) and cetuximab + cisplatin group (n=58) according to the chemotherapy regimen. The clinical efficacy, prognosis, adverse reactions and immune status were compared between the two groups of patients. At the same time, the expressions of serum gastric cancer markers, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in both groups of patients were detected before and after treatment. In addition, the P38 protein expression level in cancer tissues in both groups of patients was detected via Western blotting before and after treatment.

RESULTS:

The total effective rate of clinical efficacy was 66.41 and 82.55%, respectively, in cetuximab group and the cetuximab + cisplatin group (p<0.05). The mortality and tumor metastasis rates were 16.5% vs. 3.4% and 12.3% vs. 4.5%, respectively, in the cetuximab group and the cetuximab + cisplatin group (p<0.05). The percentages of cluster of differentiation 3 (CD3), CD4, CD8, CD4/CD8 and T cell metastasis rate after treatment were significantly increased in the cetuximab + cisplatin group (p<0.05), but significantly declined in the cetuximab group (p<0.05). In addition, the levels of serum CEA and VEGF in both groups were significantly decreased (p<0.05), but they declined more significantly in the cetuximab + cisplatin group. Furthermore, it was found that cetuximab + cisplatin group had a stronger phosphorylation ability of P38 in gastric cancer tissues than the cetuximab group (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS:

Compared with cetuximab alone, cetuximab combined with cisplatin can significantly improve the clinical efficacy, reduce the tumor metastasis rate, enhance the immune function and improve the prognosis of gastric cancer patients, whose mechanism may be related to the activation of P38 in gastric cancer tissues.

• Authors: Qiang Chen, Longhai Shen, Can Chen, Huan He, Yining Fu, Liang Xu, Yang Wang
• Journal: Journal of B.U.ON. : official journal of the Balkan Union of Oncology (J BUON) 2019 Nov-Dec Vol. 24 Issue 6 Pg. 2490-2498 ISSN: 2241-6293 [Electronic] Cyprus
• PMID: 31983124 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases
• Cetuximab
• Cisplatin

Topics

• Adenocarcinoma (drug therapy, pathology)
• Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous (drug therapy, pathology)
• Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols (therapeutic use)
• Carcinoma, Signet Ring Cell (drug therapy, pathology)
• Cetuximab (administration & dosage)
• Cisplatin (administration & dosage)
• Female
• Follow-Up Studies
• Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic (drug effects)
• Humans
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Prognosis
• Stomach Neoplasms (drug therapy, pathology)
• p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases (metabolism)