Predictive role of ERCC1 and XPD genetic polymorphisms in survival of Chinese non-small cell lung cancer patients receiving chemotherapy

Aim: There is increasing evidence that ERCC1 and XPD have roles in response to chemotherapy amongpatients with NSCLC, but the results are conflicting. Therefore, we conducted the present prospective study ina Chinese population. Methods: A total of 632 primary NSCLC patients were included, followed-up from May2006 to May 2011. Polymorphisms were detected by real time PCR with TaqMan probse, using genomic DNAextracted from peripheral blood samples. The Cox regression model was used to analyze the hazard ratios (HR)for ERCC1 and XPD. Results: The median time of follow-up was 31.6 months. Our results showed the ERCC1118 T/T(HR=1.65, 95% CI=1.17-2.43) and XPD 751 Gln/ Gln genotypes (HR=1.52, 95%CI=1.04-2.08) wereassociated with an increased risk of death from NSCLC. Moreover, the ERCC118 T allele and XPD 751 Glnallele genotypes had a more higher risk of death from NSCLC among both ex-smokers and current smokers.Conclusion: In summary, ERCC1 and XPD gene polymorphisms might provide better prognostic predictiveinformation for NSCLC patients in Chinese populations, with smoking possibly interacting with the genotypes.