Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Apr 13:25:34.
doi: 10.4103/jrms.JRMS_787_18. eCollection 2020.

The prognostic value of excision repair cross-complementing Group 1 expression in nasopharyngeal cancer patients

Imjai Chitapanarux  1   2   3 , Suree Lekawanvijit  4 , Patumrat Sripan  2   3   5 , Pongsak Mahanupab  4 , Somvilai Chakrabandhu  1   2 , Wimrak Onchan  1   2 , Pichit Sittitrai  6 , Donyarat Boonlert  6 , Hanpon Klibngern  6 , Wisarut Samuckkeethum  6
Affiliations

The prognostic value of excision repair cross-complementing Group 1 expression in nasopharyngeal cancer patients

Imjai Chitapanarux et al. J Res Med Sci. .

Abstract

Background: Overexpression of excision repair cross-complementing Group 1 (ERCC-1) is related to cisplatin resistance and defective repair of radiation damage. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical significance of excision (ERCC-1) expression in nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC).

Materials and methods: We conducted a retrospective review of patients diagnosed with NPC between 2000 and 2013. The archived tissues were analyzed using immunohistochemistry to determine ERCC-1 expression. The ERCC-1 expression level along with other clinical factors and overall survival (OS) were analyzed. Hazard ratio (HR) with a 95% confidence interval was calculated to assess the risk.

Results: The analysis of ERCC-1 expression was available in 262 NPC patients who had medical records at our hospital. Among those patients, 221 (84%) were treated with curative radiotherapy (RT)/concurrent chemoradiotherapy, 22 (7%) were treated with palliative RT alone, and 19 (9%) were given best supportive care. There was no correlation between ERCC-1 expression and stage of cancer or OS. No difference in 5-year OS was found between patients with low ERCC-1 expression and high ERCC-1 expression (38% vs. 36%; P = 0.981). The adjusted HR (aHR) of cancer death increased with cancer stage (aHR = 2.93 for advanced Stages III-IV; P = 0.001) and age (aHR = 2.11 for age >55; P ≤ 0.001). ERCC-1 expression exhibited no prognostic significance in our study (aHR = 1).

Conclusion: In this study, ERCC-1 expression has no statistical significance to be considered a prognostic factor for OS among NPC patients. On the other hand, cancer stage, age, and types of treatment can be prognostic factors in NPC patients.

Keywords: Excision repair cross-complementing Group 1; nasopharyngeal cancer; prognostic factor.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Image analysis for excision repair cross-complementing Group 1 expression. Tumor areas were selected from excision repair cross-complementing Group 1 immunohistochemical-stained section (a) for image analysis, guided by a H and E-stained section (b). Image analysis results were displayed as shown in panel (c). Only cells with 2 + and 3 + nuclear staining were used for the statistical analysis
Figure 2
Figure 2
Consort diagram of the study
Figure 3
Figure 3
Kaplan–Meier curves of overall survival according to prognostic factors. There is a significant difference in 5-year overall survival between early and advanced stages (b), age group (c) and treatment (d), but not excision repair cross complementing Group 1expression level (a)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Jemal A, Bray F, Center MM, Ferlay J, Ward E, Forman D, et al. Global cancer statistics. CA Cancer J Clin. 2011;61:69–90. - PubMed
    1. Imsamran W, Chaiwerawattana A, Wiangnon S, Pongnikorn D, Suwanrungruang K, Sangrajrang S, et al. Cancer in Thailand. Vol. 8. Bangkok, Thailand: National Cancer Institute; 2015.
    1. Blanchard P, Lee A, Marguet S, Leclercq J, Ng WT, Ma J, et al. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma: An update of the MAC-NPC meta-analysis. Lancet Oncol. 2015;16:645–55. - PubMed
    1. Au JS, Law CK, Foo W, Lau WH. In-depth evaluation of the AJCC/UICC 1997 staging system of nasopharyngeal carcinoma: Prognostic homogeneity and proposed refinements. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2003;56:413–26. - PubMed
    1. Chua DT, Sham JS, Wei WI, Ho WK, Au GK. The predictive value of the 1997 American joint committee on cancer stage classification in determining failure patterns in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Cancer. 2001;92:2845–55. - PubMed