Polymorphisms in ERCC1 C8092A predict progression-free survival in metastatic/recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy

Objectives

We evaluated whether DNA repair gene polymorphisms had an effect on clinical outcomes in metastatic/recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy.

Materials and methods

Clinical data of 101 patients with metastatic/recurrent NPC between 2004 and 2011 were reviewed. Five potentially functional polymorphisms (ERCC1 Asn118Asn, ERCC1 C8092A, XPD Lys751Gln, XRCC1 Arg399Gln and XRCC1 Arg280His) were genotyped using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Results

The ERCC1 C8092A polymorphism was an independent predictor of PFS in Chinese NPC patients treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Compared to the patients carrying the C/C genotype, the patients with the C/A or A/A genotype had an increased risk of disease progression on cisplatin-based chemotherapy (7.9 vs. 9.3 months; HR 1.61; 95 % CI 1.08–2.61; p = 0.047). However, no association between the other polymorphisms, response rate, disease progression and survival was detected in metastatic/recurrent NPC patients.

Conclusion

The ERCC1 C8092A polymorphism might be a useful predictive marker in metastatic/recurrent NPC patients treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy. However, a large-scale prospective study is warranted to validate our findings.