Nization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) BIG00-01 clinical trial, received TET (docetaxel, epirubicin-docetaxel)

Nization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) BIG00-01 clinical trial, received TET (docetaxel, epirubicin-docetaxel) or FEC (fluorouracil, epirubicin, and cyclophosphamide) chemotherapy resulted in a validation study published in 2007 [97]. Importantly, problems with the methodology of these studies have been identified [98-100] and serious concerns about the validity of the published results were raised [101,102]. Subsequently, after a series of investigations, the findings derived from in vitro studies were considered invalid, and this led to the discontinuation of the clinical trials based on these prediction models. Furthermore, several high-profile publications have recently been retracted. Another method to develop multigene classifiers of chemosensitivity is based on the use of metagenes (that is, groups of coexpressed genes associated with a small number of biological processes). A retrospective microarray analysis of prospectively collected ER-negative breast cancer samples demonstrated that increased stromal gene expression predicted resistance to FEC chemotherapy [103]. This `stromal’ multigene classifier was subsequently validated in two independent cohorts [103]. Further validation of this metagene is awaited. Despite the promising initial results, the signatures of chemotherapy sensitivity have so far had limited use PubMed ID:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27488460 in clinical practice. Most of them have been developed in small, convenience cohorts and require further external validation. None of the different predictors of chemosensitivity is commercially available, and additional evidence is still required before they can be implemented in clinical practice. For a detailed discussion of the reasons for the limited success of the predictive signatures available to date, readers are referred to a recent review by Borst and Wessels [102]. On the basis of the design employed in most of the studies, the predictive signatures for multidrug regimens are likely to capture the transcriptomic features of sensitivity/resistance to cytotoxic agents in general. These mechanisms may constitute convergent phenotypes [104] (that is, there are multiple genetic/epigenetic aberrations that may lead to resistance to cytoxic agents). The next generation of signatures ought to focus on specific drugs within a givenColombo et al. Breast Cancer Research 2011, 13:212 http://breast-cancer-research.com/content/13/3/Page 10 ofTable 2. Multigene predictors of sensitivity to chemotherapyAuthors Chang et al. [116] Ayers et al. [90] IwaoKoizumi et al. [91] Gianni et al. [70] Hess et al. [92] Thuerigen et al. [93] Farmer et al. [103]aNumber of casesa 24 discovery 6 validation 24 discovery 12 validation 44 discovery 26 validation 89 discovery 92 validation 82 discovery 51 validation 52 discovery 48 validationRegimen Neoadjuvant Neoadjuvant NeoadjuvantChemosensitivity Chemotherapy evaluation Docetaxel T/FAC Docetaxel Clinical response pCR Clinical responseTechnology Method cDNA microarray cDNA microarray Highthroughput RT-PCR qRT-PCR/ DNA microarray cDNA microarray cDNA microarray cDNA microarray Supervised Supervised SupervisedSignature 92 genes 74 genes 85 genesNPV 83 73 90.9PPV 92 100 (3/3) 73.3Accuracy 88 78 80.7NeoadjuvantTApCRSupervised86 genes—Neoadjuvant Neoadjuvant NeoadjuvantT/FAC G-ET FECpCR pCR pCRSupervised Supervised Metagene Actinomycin D site approach30 genes 512 genes Stromal metagene96 95 8152 64 5776 88 65Number of cases in discovery and validation sets. FEC, fluorouracil, epirubi.