Abstract B15: Expression of ABC transporters in human pancreatic cancer cell lines and correlation with gemcitabine sensitivity.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest malignancies with very poor prognosis. Because of no symptoms or nonspecific and varied symptoms, pancreatic cancer is often not diagnosed until it is advanced. Chemotherapy is the main treatment, but due to chemoresistance, the efficacy of chemotherapy is limited. Even for Gemcitabine, the golden standard for advance pancreatic cancer treatment, the tumor response rate is only about 15-20% and the 1-year survival rate is less than 25%. Although intensively investigated, the understanding of drug insensitivity is still fragmentary. Of the many different, unrelated mechanisms, we are particularly interested in abnormal expression of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, as the multidrug efflux pumps play an important role in the uptake and distribution of therapeutic drugs. We examined multiple ABC transporters gene expression in 8 human pancreatic carcinoma cell lines and found that Mia Paca-2 has the lowest expressions of ABCB1, ABCC1 and ABCG2, PANC1 has highest expressions of ABCC1 and ABCG2, and CFPAC1 has the highest expression of ABCB1. AsPC-1, PL-45 and HPAF-II also show significant amounts of ABCB1, ABCC1 and ABCG2 expression. We have previously noted that Mia Paca-2 is significantly more sensitive to gemcitabine than PANC1, PL-45 and ASPC-1. The expressions of the ABC transporters may correlate with the differential sensitivity of the cells to gemcitabine. The potential correlations of ABC transporters9 expression with the chemosensitivity to other chemotherapy drugs are currently being investigated. Citation Format: Li Pang, Beverly Word, Honggang Wang, Beverly Lyn-Cook. Expression of ABC transporters in human pancreatic cancer cell lines and correlation with gemcitabine sensitivity. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer: Progress and Challenges; Jun 18-21, 2012; Lake Tahoe, NV. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(12 Suppl):Abstract nr B15.