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.