Effects of ERCC1 expression in peripheral blood on the risk of head and neck cancer

Abstract

Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) accounted for 3.5% of all cancers registered in Korea during 2001. Although tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption are known risk factors of SCCHN, only a small fraction of the populations exposed to tobacco or alcohol develop SCCHN. Therefore, differences in the susceptibility of SCCHN with respect to DNA repair and xenobiotic metabolisms have focused upon attempts to determine the causes of SCCHN. Here, we investigated factors that affect ERCC1 mRNA expression in peripheral blood. The study subjects were all Koreans (67 patients and 73 control subjects); 72.9% of all subjects were male; 68.4% were current or former smokers; and 62.4% were current or former alcohol drinkers. We also studied the association between ERCC1 mRNA expression and the C8092A polymorphism of ERCC1, and found lower ERCC1 mRNA expression in SCCHN patients than in controls (P<0.01). In the present study, we found that ERCC1 C8092A polymorphism is not related to the risk of SCCHN or expression of ERCC1 mRNA. In addition, we found a positive association between ERCC1 mRNA expression in peripheral blood and tumour tissues and inverse associations between ERCC1 mRNA expression and age or the number of cigarettes smoked. Therefore, our study suggests that ERCC1 mRNA expression is reduced by age and smoking and has a weak effect on SCCHN risk as compared with the effects of age and tobacco-smoking expression.

Correlation of ERCC1 expression in peripheral blood lymphocytes with outcomes of patients with gastric cancer treated with oxaliplatin-based adjuvant chemotherapy

“…Several studies have confirmed that both PBL and tumor cells carry a homologous gene for ERCC1 (Kaspers et al, 1991;Yang et al, 2006). In patients with non-small cell lung cancer and those with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, the levels of ERCC1 in PBLs may be considered prognostic (Schena et al, 2012).…”

“…Therefore, there is a need to develop affordable and non-invasive methods that can detect ERCC1 expression. Many studies have confirmed that peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) and tumor cells carry a homologous ERCC1 gene (Kaspers et al, 1991;Yang et al, 2006). In a previous study, we demonstrated that the expression of ERCC1 in PBLs might indirectly reflect ERCC1 expression in gastric cancer tissues (Zhang and Gu, 2013).…”

Association of ERCC1 polymorphisms (rs3212986 and rs11615) with the risk of head and neck carcinomas based on case–control studies

“…The C8092A (rs3212986) and T19007C (rs11615) analyzed in the current study were the common SNPs in exons of ERCC2 gene. Several studies on the association of these two ERCC1 polymorphisms with HNSCC susceptibility have been published [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. However, the results are controversial.…”

“…Thus far, several molecular epidemiological studies have been conducted in recent years to evaluate the association of ERCC1 rs3212986 and rs11615 polymorphisms with HNSCC susceptibility [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. However, the results remain conflicting and controversial, partially because of the relatively small sample size of individual studies and sampling effects.…”

ERCC1 Cys8092Ala and XRCC1 Arg399Gln Polymorphisms Predict Progression-Free Survival after Curative Radiotherapy for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

“…The 8092 Cys/Ala polymorphism (C8092A) is located on the 3′ untranslated region of the ERCC1 gene [9], which has been implicated in the translational repression of ERCC1 mRNA [10], [12] although no functional differences have been described [11]. Potential relationships between SNPs of the ERCC1 gene such as Cys8092Ala and prognosis have been analyzed in patients with various types of cancer treated with cisplatin, with conflicting results [13]–[23].…”