ERCC1, RRM1 and TUBB3 mRNA expression on the tumor response and overall survival of non-small cell lung cancer treated with platinum-based chemotherapy.

Xingyi Zhang

doi:10.12669/pjms.306.5768

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to analyze the expression of ERCC1, RRM1 and TUBB3 in 305 patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and investigate whether these genes can be used as biomarkers for predicting tumor response and clinical outcome. Methods: Total 305 patients with unresectable and locally advanced NSCLC were collected between January 2007 and December 2008. cDNA of ERCC1, RRM1 and TUBB3 was isolated by a fluorescence-based real-time detection method. Results: All the patients were followed up until December 2012. One hundred seventy five patients showed good response and 130 patients showed poor response to chemotherapy. 126 patients died and 166 patients showed progressive disease during the follow-up period. The median levels of ERCC1, RRM1 and TUBB3 mRNA were 0.53±0.13, 0.31±0.15 and 0.18±0.16, respectively. We found that patients with low ERCC1 expression showed a significantly higher rate of good tumor response, and the adjusted OR (95% CI) was 2.16(1.32-3.45). By Cox regression analysis. We also found that low ERCC1 expression level were correlated with longer overall survival of NSCLC patients, with the adjusted HR (95% CI) was 2.15 (1.26–3.35). Conclusion: This study showed that ERCC1 mRNA expression can not affect the response to chemotherapy and clinical outcome of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.

Highlights

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths for both males and females worldwide, and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for about 70%~85% of all lung cancer cases.[1]
By chi-square test, we found that patients with low excision repair crosscomplementing gene 1 (ERCC1) expression showed a significantly higher rate of good tumor response, and the adjusted OR was 2.16(1.32-3.45) (Table-II)
It is generally known that traditional selection of chemotherapy regimen could improve response and survival of cancer patients, and personalized chemotherapy in NSCLC patients based on molecular characteristics can improve the overall response rate to chemotherapy and clinical outcome of cancer patients

Summary

Introduction

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths for both males and females worldwide, and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for about 70%~85% of all lung cancer cases.[1] It is estimated that more than 60% of NSCLC patients showed unresectable advanced disease when they were diagnosed. Combined modality therapy has become the standard method in treatment of NSCLC, and chemotherapy has become the integral part therapy for NSCLC.[2] For patients with advanced stage NSCLC, chemotherapy could improve the quality of life and prolong survival time in patients with advanced NSCLC. It is reported that platinumbased doublet chemotherapy is the standard therapy for patients with advanced NSCLC.[3,4] Even the advanced therapy, the 2-year overall survival rate for unresectable NSCLC is about 15%

Methods

Results

Conclusion