Method for predicting the sensitivity to chemotherapy

A method for selecting the proper chemotherapeutic treatment for a patient in need thereof, which first comprises predicting his sensitivity towards chemotherapy by obtaining a blood sample from the patient, detecting the levels of blood glutathione (GSH) as a surrogate marker for glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activity in tumor tissues, determining whether the blood GSH levels fall within a range indicative of a potential for the patient to exhibit de novo or later progression to resistance to anticancer chemotherapeutic agents, and selecting a suitable and effective chemotherapeutic treatment based on the above GSH levels.

A method for treating a patient suffering from a tumor over-expressing the GSH/GST system, which first comprises predicting his sensitivity towards chemotherapy by obtaining a blood sample from the patient, detecting the levels of blood GSH as a surrogate marker for GST activity in tumor tissues, determining whether the GSH levels fall within a range indicative of a potential for the patient to exhibit de novo or later progression to resistance to chemotherapeutic agents, and selecting a suitable and effective chemotherapeutic treatment based on the above GSH/GST levels which treatment may comprise the administration of an effective amount of N-(5-{[(5-{[(5-{[(2-{[amino(imino)methyl]amino} ethyl)amino]carbonyl}-1-methyl-1H-pyrrol-3-yl)amino]carbonyl}-1-methyl-1H-pyrrol-3-yl)amino]carbonyl}-1-methyl-1H-pyrrol-3-yl)-4-[(2-bromoacryloyl)amino]-1-methyl-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxamide (internal code PNU 166196), or of a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

Use of a kit for determining blood GSH levels as a surrogate marker for GST activity in tumor tissues.