Expression of ERCC1 and class III β-tubulin is associated with the survival of resected stage III non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with induction chemoradiotherapy using carboplatin-taxane.

Several molecules have been proven to be associated with responsiveness to chemotherapy. A clinical study on the expression of excision repair cross-complementing (ERCC)-1 and class III β-tubulin was conducted in advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. We investigated 34 resected stage III NSCLC patients treated with induction chemoradiotherapy using carboplatin-taxane. Immunohistochemistry was performed to evaluate the intratumoral expression of ERCC1 and class III β-tubulin. Nineteen tumors (55.9%) were ERCC1-high and 11 (32.4%) were class III β-tubulin-high. There was no correlation between ERCC1 and class III β-tubulin expression (r=0.208). Regarding the pathological effect of induction therapy, the percentage of ERCC1-positive tumor cells was lower in tumors with a major response than in tumors with a minor response (P=0.0851). The percentage of class III β-tubulin-positive tumor cells was significantly lower in tumors with a major response than in tumors with a minor response (P=0.0105). Regarding patient survival, the overall survival was significantly higher in patients with ERCC1-low tumors than in those with ERCC1-high tumors (P=0.0034). The overall survival was also significantly higher in patients with class III β-tubulin-low tumors than in those with class III β-tubulin-high tumors (P=0.0185). Cox regression analysis also demonstrated that ERCC1 (P=0.0467) and class III β-tubulin statuses (P=0.0237) were significant prognostic factors. Co-evaluations of the intratumoral expression of ERCC1 and class III β-tubulin are clinically useful for identifying patient populations responsive to chemotherapy using carboplatin-taxane.