Increased Expression of N-myc in Human Small Cell Lung Cancer Biopsies Predicts Lack of Response to Chemotherapy and Poor Prognosis

Abstract

Amplified and increased expression of the myc family of protooncogenes (c- and N-myc) has been described to be associated with rapid proliferation in a number of cell lines, including small cell lung cancer (SCLC). In SCLC, c-myc was demonstrated to be amplified in a subset of SCLC cell lines denoted as variant type, which show a more aggressive way of growth in vitro. The N-myc oncogene, which has extensive homology in the second exon with c-myc, has been shown to be implicated in the oncogenesis of several primary tumors, including SCLC. The authors describe, using in situ hybridization, that increased expression of the oncogenes in primary biopsies from 15 untreated patients with SCLC are strongly associated with poor response to chemotherapy, rapid tumor growth, and short survival.