ERCC1 expression in patients with colorectal cancer: a pilot study

Aim: Excision repair cross complementation group 1 (ERCC1) has a key role in enhanced DNA damage repair caused by oxaliplatin-based therapy and may lead to resistance of these platinum drugs in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Hence, the present preliminary study aimed to explore the role of ERCC1 C/T polymorphism at codon 118 as well as its immunoreactivity in patients with primary CRC. Methods: ERCC1 polymorphism was studied using PCR-RFLP and ERCC1 protein expression was examined by immunohistochemistry in 50 CRC patients. Results: ERCC1 codon 118 C/T polymorphism analysis reported the predominance of C/T (52%) genotype as compared to C/C (38%) and T/T (10%) genotypes. Furthermore, 72% of patients showed positive ERCC1 protein expression. Significant correlation was not observed between clinicopathological parameters and ERCC1 polymorphism, while ERCC1 protein expression significantly correlated only with tumor site (colon vs. rectum) (P = 0.046). Further, the present study failed to demonstrate the role of ERCC1 C118T polymorphism or protein expression as useful prognostic markers in CRC patients. Conclusion: ERCC1-positive protein expression may be a useful marker for rectal cancer patients. However, further evaluation in a larger set of CRC patients is required to better understand the role of ERCC1