Differences in the Expression Profiles of Excision Repair Crosscomplementation Group 1, X-Ray Repair Crosscomplementation Group 1, and βIII-Tubulin Between Primary Non-small Cell Lung Cancer and Metastatic Lymph Nodes and the Significance in Mid-Term Survival

Introduction: This study aimed to compare the expression profiles of excision repair crosscomplementation group 1 (ERCC1), x-ray repair crosscomplementation group 1 (XRCC1), and beta III-tubulin between patients with primary non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and those with metastatic lymph nodes and to identify the prognostic significance of each chemotherapy resistance protein. Materials: Those who met the inclusion criteria were patients (1) with NSCLC, (2) with metastatic lymph nodes (N1 or N2), and (3) who underwent surgical resection followed by platinum-based adjuvant chemotherapy. A total of 82 patients were included in the study. The expression profile of each protein was evaluated by immunohistochemistry and compared according to tumor location. Results: The mean age of the patients was 57.5 +/- 8.4 years. There were 30 N1 and 52 N2 patients. ERCC I expression was upregulated in 55% and downregulated in 8% of metastatic lymph nodes, when compared with primary tumors (p < 0.05). XRCC1 was also upregulated in 56% and downregulated in 6% (p < 0.05). However, beta III-tubulin was upregulated in 12% and downregulated in 45% of patients (p < 0.05). beta III-tubulin expression in metastatic lymph nodes was greater in patients with adenocarcinoma than other cell types. Upregulation of ERCC1 in metastatic lymph nodes was a poor prognostic factor in N1 patients but not in N2 patients. Conclusions: Significant changes in the expression profile of each protein were observed in metastatic lymph nodes. The resistance protein-guided treatment Should be performed after integrative interpretation of expression profiles of each protein in both primary and metastatic sites.