Retinoblastoma (Rb) protein expression and resistance in squamous cell lung carcinomas

The purpose of this study was to prove the value of Rb protein expression as a prognostic factor for patients with squamous cell lung carcinoma. The expression of Rb in 75 carcinomas was analyzed immunohistochemically and the resistance to doxorubicin was investigated in vitro. Rb-negative carcinomas were more frequently resistant than Rb-positive carcinomas (p<0.05). A trend for a correlation between the expression of Rb and the expression of glutathione S-transferase-pi was detectable (p=0.08). Patients with Rb-positive carcinomas had a trend for better prognosis, but this result was not statistically significant.