Thymidine kinase as a predictor of response to chemotherapy in advanced breast cancer.

Cytosols from breast cancers were measured for estrogen receptor (ER) and thymidine kinase (TK) activity. There was no correlation between ER and TK in 137 primary breast cancers studied. The results of TK from 57 metastatic breast cancers were correlated with the response or failure to subsequent hormonal therapy or chemotherapy. TK did not predict the responses to hormonal therapy in 12 patients. Of the 45 patients treated with chemotherapies, 13 of 15 tumors with TK over 80 pmol/mg/min responded (86%), while only 4 of the 30 tumors (13%) with TK below 80 pmol/mg/min responded (p less than 0.001). TK appears to be useful in predicting the responses to chemotherapy.