Role of excision repair cross‐complementation 1 expression as a prognostic marker for response to radiotherapy in early‐stage laryngeal cancer

Abstract

Background and Purpose Tumors with high expression of excision repair cross complementation 1 (ERCC1) are resistant to platinum-based chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy. We evaluated the prognostic value of ERCC1 expression in a cohort of laryngeal cancer treated with radiotherapy alone, to determine if expression correlated with clinicopathologic risk factors, local control, or overall survival. Material and Methods The study included 123 patients with stages I – II laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma treated to a median dose of 66 Gy using standard fields and fractionation. ERCC1 expression was examined by immunohistochemical analysis of tissue microarrays. Results ERCC1 expression did not correlate with standard prognostic factors, local control, or overall survival. At 5 years, local control was 75% vs. 71% (p = 0.78) and overall survival was 68% vs. 54% (p = 0.65), for non-expressors and expressors of ERCC1, respectively. Multivariate analysis identified T stage as the only independent predictor for local control, and T stage and age as predictors for overall survival. Conclusions ERCC1 expression did not predict for radiotherapy resistance or worse survival in these laryngeal cancer patients. Though ERCC1 is a marker of resistance to platinum-based chemotherapy and chemoradiation, radiotherapy remains an effective treatment in tumors with high ERCC1 expression.

The prognostic and predictive value of excision repair cross-complementation group 1 (ERCC1) protein in 1288 patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma treated with platinum-based therapy: a meta-analysis

“…There is a considerable heterogeneity between reported results in head and neck patients. Whereas the literature on ERCC1 and radiotherapy is very scarce and the evidence for that relation has not been robust especially in clinical settings, we think it is of great importance to analyze separately treatments including platinum-based chemotherapy and radiotherapy alone [35][36][37]. Besides it was reported that although ERCC1 positive cells showed increased chemoresistance they might have been particularly radiosensitive and less hypoxic [38].…”

Overexpression of excision repair cross-complementing 1 gene associates with higher risk of therapeutic failure after definitive chemoradiation for unresectable non-small cell lung cancer

“…Higher expression levels of ERCC1 have been correlated with worse outcomes in multiple malignancies including breast, head and neck, esophageal, gastric, colorectal, ovarian, and lung cancers ( 9 – 16 ). However, in NSCLC, the majority of work investigating ERCC1 has been to elucidate its impact in individuals who received treatment with chemotherapy.…”

Targeting the unfolded protein response in head and neck and oral cavity cancers

“…[53]. UPR induction as a radiosensitizer has also been discussed extensively in brain, lung and pancreatic cancer cell lines [54][55][56].…”