Predictive value of the ERCC1 expression for treatment response and survival in advanced gastric cancer patients receiving cisplatin-based first-line chemotherapy.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to determine whether the ERCC1 expression is effective to predict the clinical outcomes of patients with advanced gastric cancer (AGC) and who were treated with cisplatin-based first-line chemotherapy.


METHODS
A total of 89 measurable AGC patients received cisplatin and capecitabine, with or without epirubicin, as a part of a randomized phase II study. Patients were included for the current molecular analysis if they had received two or more cycles of chemotherapy, their objective tumor responses were measured and if their paraffin-embedded tumor samples were available. The ERCC1 expression was examined by performing immunohistochemical (IHC) staining, and the patients were divided into two groups (positive or negative) according to the presence of IHC staining of the tumor cell nuclei.


RESULTS
Of the 32 eligible patients, 21 patients (66%) had tumor with a positive expression of ERCC1 and the remaining 11 patients had tumor with a negative ERCC1-expression. The ERCC1-negative patients achieved a higher response rate than that of the ERCC1-positive patients (44% vs. 28%, respectively), although the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.42). The median survival time for the all patients was 14.6 months (95% CI: 13.6 to 15.6 months). The one-year survival rate was similar for the ERCC1-negative patients (61%) and the ERCC1-positive patients (70%).


CONCLUSIONS
In the current study, the tumor ERCC1 expression by IHC staining could not predict the clinical response or survival of AGC patients who were treated with cisplatin-based first-line chemotherapy. The ERCC1 protein expression does not appear to be a useful tool for the selection of tailored chemotherapy for these patients.
Yun
Jina
J
Department of Medicine, Sungkyunkwan University Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
Kim
Kyoung-Mee
KM
Kim
Seung Tae
ST
Kim
Jung-Hoon
JH
Kim
Jung A
JA
Kong
Jee Hyun
JH
Lee
Soo Hyeon
SH
Won
Young-Woong
YW
Sun
Jong-Mu
JM
Lee
Jeeyun
J
Park
Se Hoon
SH
Park
Joon Oh
JO
Park
Young Suk
YS
Lim
Ho Yeong
HY
Kang
Won Ki
WK