Association between the ERCC1 rs11615 polymorphism and clinical outcomes of oxaliplatin-based chemotherapies in gastrointestinal cancer: a meta-analysis

PURPOSE: The relationship between the excision repair cross-complementing 1 (ERCC1) rs11615 polymorphism (C/T) and responses to oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy for gastric cancer (GC) and colorectal cancer (CRC) patients is controversial. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to assess this relationship. METHOD: Relevant studies were retrieved by searching the PubMed database. A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the predictive value of the ERCC1 rs11615 polymorphism for the clinical outcomes of GC and CRC patients receiving oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy. Therapeutic response to chemotherapy, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 22 studies were included in this meta-analysis, including 1,242 cases of GC and 1,772 cases of CRC. For the ERCC1 rs11615 polymorphism, the T allele was associated with a reduced response to chemotherapy in Asians and GC patients (P<0.05). On the other hand, the T allele was associated with a significant increase in the risk for shorter PFS and OS in all patients (PFS: hazard ratio [HR] =1.22, P<0.001, 95% confidence interval [CI] =0.93–1.51 and OS: HR =1.12, P<0.001, 95% CI =0.85–1.40). CONCLUSION: The ERCC1 rs11615 polymorphism was closely associated with the clinical outcomes of GC and CRC patients treated with oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy.