title: Low expression of excision repair cross-complementation group-1 protein predicts better outcome in patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal cancer treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Cisplatin-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy is the standard treatment of locally advanced nasopharyngeal cancer. We conducted this study to assess the value of excision repair cross-complementation group 1 (ERCC1) protein expression in predicting the clinical outcome of patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal cancer who were treated with cisplatin-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  We employed immunohistochemical analysis to determine the expression of ERCC1 protein among 66 patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal cancer who were treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy. The relationship of ERCC1 expression to clinical outcome was analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were no statistically significant differences in gender, age, T stage, N stage, clinical staging and treatment method between the high ERCC1 expression and low ERCC1 expression groups. Fifty-eight patients (87.88%) had a complete response and 8 (12.12%) a partial response. Of the 34 patients with high ERCC1 expression, 10 (29.41%) relapsed, compared with 4 of 32 (12.5%) patients with low ERCC1 expression (P = 0.041). The 5-year overall survival rate was 58.82% in patients with high ERCC1 expression and 84.37% in patients with low ERCC1 expression (P = 0.022). Multivariate analysis showed that low expression of ERCC1 was a significant independent prognostic factor for better overall survival (P = 0.026).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Low ERCC1 expression is associated with prolonged survival in patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal cancer receiving cisplatin-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy. ERCC1 expression may become a molecular marker in predicting the clinical outcome of these patients.
authors: Zhongxin
authors: Z
authors: Zhang
authors: Changqing
authors: C
authors: Jiang
authors: Likuan
authors: L
authors: Hu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D059248:Chemoradiotherapy; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D015536:Down-Regulation; D004720:Endonucleases / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C071447:ERCC1 protein, human; D004720:Endonucleases; D002945:Cisplatin