Pretreatment HIF-1α and GLUT-1 Expressions Do Not Correlate with Outcome after Preoperative Chemoradiotherapy in Rectal Cancer

The aim of the present study was to investigate hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) and glucose transporter-1 (GLUT-1) expressions as predictors of response and survival after chemoradiotherapy in pretreatment biopsy specimens from patients with rectal cancer. The immunohistological expressions of HIF-1α and GLUT-1 were investigated in pretreatment biopsies from 86 patients with rectal cancer receiving long course preoperative chemoradiotherapy. The immunohistological stainings were scored semi-quantitatively (percentage of stained cells and staining intensity), and an immunoreactive score was calculated. The response to the chemoradiotherapy was assessed by the Mandard Tumour Regression Grade system (TRG). No association was found between HIF-1α or GLUT-1 and clinicopathological variables. HIF-1α and GLUT-1 expression had no predictive impact regarding response to chemoradiotherapy measured by TRG and was not associated with overall survival. The present study did not suggest any predictive or prognostic value of pretreatment HIF-1α or GLUT-1 expression in patients with rectal cancer treated with preoperative chemoradiotherapy.