Abstract: Objective To investigate the expression and significance of drug resistance related genes O⁶-methylguanine-DNA-methyltransferase (MGMT) and DNA topoisomerase II (TopoII) in human glioma. Methods The expression of MGMT and TopoII in 96 cases of glioma tissues and 30 cases of normal brain tissues was detected by immunohistochemical staining method. The expression of genes was compared between different tissues, and the relationship between the expression of genes in glioma and clinical data and prognosis was analyzed. Results The positive expression rates of MGMT and TopoII in glioma tissues were 57.29% and 36.45%, respectively while in normal brain tissues were 6.33% and 3.33%, respectively (P<0.05). The expression rate of TopoII increased with the degree of tumor malignancy (P<0.05). 79 patients with gliomas were followed up for 3~32 months. The survival time of patients with negative of MGMT and TopoII was longer than that of patients with expression of MGMT and TopoII (P<0.05). Conclusion The expression rates of MGMT and TopoII are high in human glioma. The expression of TopoII is related to the malignant degree of glioma, and the expression of the two genes is related to the prognosis of patients.

Key words: Glioma, O⁶-methylguanine-DNA-methyltransferase, DNA topoisomerase II, Immunohistochemistry