Predictive Value of Excision Repair Cross Complementation Group 1 (ERCC1) by Immunohistochemistry for Determining Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Response in Triple-Negative Breast Cancers

Sep 23, 2026

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Triple-negative breast cancers lack estrogen, progesterone, and HER2 expression, limiting treatment options and motivating predictive biomarkers for chemotherapy response. This study assessed excision repair cross complementation group 1 (ERCC1) expression by immunohistochemistry on pre-chemotherapy needle biopsies in biopsy-proven TNBC patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy before surgery. ERCC1 expression scoring was related to pathological response categories and residual cancer burden (RCB) class. Results analyzed associations between ERCC1 status, complete and partial response, RCB distribution, and nodal staging.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

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Introduction

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Keywords

Wiley The Breast Journal Volume 2025, Article ID 8410670, 8 pages [https://doi.org/10.1155/tbj/8410670](https://doi.org/10.1155/tbj/8410670) Research Article Predictive Value of Excision Repair Cross Complementation Group 1 (ERCC1) by Immunohistochemistry for Determining Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Response in Triple-Negative Breast Cancers Atif Ali Hashmi , 1,2 Yumna Ajaz, 1 MuhsanaSajjad ,3 Fazail Zia ,4 Muhammad Irfan 5 , Syed Muhammad Abu Bakar,1 Erum Yousuf Khan,1 and Naveen Faridi1 1 Department of Histopathology, Liaquat National Hospital and Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan 2 Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City, New York, USA 3 Department of Pathology, Liaquat National Hospital and Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan 4 Department of Pathology, Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Karachi, Pakistan 5 Department of Statistics, Liaquat National Hospital and Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan Correspondence should be addressed to Atif Ali Hashmi; [atifhashmi345@gmail.com](atifhashmi345@gmail.com) Received 19 May 2024; Accepted 30 January 2025 Academic Editor: Pranshu Sahgal Copyright © 2025 Atif Ali Hashmi et al. Te Breast Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Tis is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Introduction: Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs) constitute a signifcant proportion of breast cancers in Pakistan. Owing to the lack of expression of hormone (estrogen/progesterone) receptor and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2neu), treatment options for TNBCs are limited. Terefore, it is important to identify markers that predict response to chemotherapy in these patients. Previous studies have demonstrated that the excision repair cross complementation group 1 (ERCC1) protein can successfully augur the response to chemotherapy in cancer; however, data related to TNBCs, particularly in Pakistan, are limited. Terefore, in this study, we evaluated the role ofERCC1 in predicting the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with TNBCs. Methods: Tis cross-sectional study was conducted at the Liaquat National Hospital, Histopathology Department, between January 2019 and June 2023 . A total of 132 biopsy-proven cases of breast cancer that were negative for estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and HER/2neu and were administered neoadjuvant chemotherapy before surgery were included in the study. ERCC1 immunohistochemical (IHC) staining was performed on prechemotherapy needle biopsies. Te results were scored semiquantitatively by assessing the average intensity on a scale of 0–3 (0, no staining; 1, weak nuclear staining; 2, intermediate nuclear staining; and 3, strong nuclear staining) and the proportion of tumor cells showing positive nuclear staining. Te intensity and proportion scores were then multiplied to give a score that was divided by 100 to give an overall score, and scores equal to or higher than 1.0 were considered positive. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy response was categorized as pathological complete response (pCR) when no residual invasive breast carcinoma was found on the postneoadjuvant chemotherapy excision specimen and as pathological partial response (pPR) when residual cancer cells were present in admixed chemotherapy-related changes. Te residual cancer burden (RCB) was calculated using the MD Anderson RCB calculator. Te association between ERCC1 expression and the chemotherapy response/RCB class was determined. Results: We found that 90.9%(n 􀂈 120) of TNBC cases expressed ERCC1, whereas pCR was noted in 24 (18.2%) cases. A signifcant association was observed between ERCC1 expression and pCR. Cases with negative ERCC1 expression had a signifcantly higher frequency of pCR (66.7%) than those with positive ERCC1 expression (13.3%). Additionally,

FAQs

What is the main objective of this study?

To evaluate how ERCC1 expression assessed by immunohistochemistry predicts the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in triple-negative breast cancers.

How was ERCC1 expression measured in the study?

ERCC1 immunohistochemical staining was performed on pre-chemotherapy needle biopsies, with results scored semiquantitatively using intensity and proportion to generate an overall score.

What associations were reported between ERCC1 expression and treatment response?

A significant association was found between ERCC1 expression and pathological complete response, and ERCC1 status was also associated with residual cancer burden classes and nodal stage.

Sep 23, 2026

Uploaded by Liam