ERCC1 and class III β-tubulin expression in chemotherapy-naive advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with cisplatin and vinorelbine.

Abstract

e21010 Background: The excision repair cross-complementation group 1 (ERCC1) and class III β-tubulin are suggested to be associated with resistance to cisplatin and vinorelbine, respectively. Methods: We evaluated the effects of ERCC1 and class III β-tubulin expression in the aspect of treatment response and survival in chemotherapy-naïve advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with cisplatin and vinorelbine. Results: Protein expression of ERCC1 and class III β-tubulin was evaluated immunohistochemically in tumor samples taken from 49 patients. High expression of ERCC1 and class III β-tubulin was found in 24 and 29 patients, respectively. High expression of ERCC1 and class III β-tubulin was associated with poor response rate compared with low expression (17% vs 48%, P = 0.03; 21% vs 50%, P = 0.03, respectively). High expression of class III β-tubulin was significantly associated with shorter overall survival (OS) (P = 0.041). With this combination, patients with low expression of both ERCC1 and class III β-tubulin had longer median OS (132 weeks, P = 0.007) than patients with high expression of either ERCC1 or class III β-tubulin. Multivariate analysis revealed that high expression of ERCC1 (HR = 2.554, P = 0.025) and class III β-tubulin (HR = 3.109, P = 0.013) were independent prognostic markers for shorter OS. Conclusions: ERCC1 and class III β-tubulin were both predictive and prognostic factors in advanced NSCLC patients treated with cisplatin and vinorelbine chemotherapy and might be useful biomarkers in decision making of chemotherapy.