Lung Cancer. 2010 May;68(2):305-7. doi: 10.1016/j.lungcan.2010.01.020. Epub 2010 Feb 25.
The excision repair cross-complementation (ERCC) enzyme plays a rate-limiting role in nucleotide excision repair pathway. Microsatellite alterations (MAs) at the long arm of chromosome 19, where are located the ERCC genes, have recently been associated with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) pathogenesis and reduced survival. The aim of the present study was to explore MAs at 19q in DNA from exhaled breath condensate (EBC) of NSCLC patients investigating their possible correlation with the smoking habit, with the biological behaviour of the tumour and their predictive survival power.
34 NSCLC patients and 33 healthy controls (19 non-smokers and 14 smokers) were enrolled. All the subjects underwent 19q microsatellite analysis of their EBC. A total of 25 patients were either given a follow-up of at least 102 weeks, or were followed up until death.
No MAs were found in EBC or WB in the healthy non-smokers, while 16% of exhaled MAs were found in healthy smokers and 25% of exhaled MAs in NSCLC patients. The number of MAs resulted related with tobacco consumption and with NSCLC patients' survival.
In conclusion, the study of MAs at 19q resulted feasible in EBC-DNA. These genetic alterations are specific for lung cancer and predictive of survival in NSCLC patients. Our results suggest interesting clinical perspectives for the analysis of exhaled MAs at 19q in NSCLC patients.
切除修复交叉互补（ERCC）酶在核苷酸切除修复途径中起限速作用。染色体 19 长臂上的微卫星改变（MAs），其中包含 ERCC 基因，最近与非小细胞肺癌（NSCLC）的发病机制和降低的生存率相关。本研究的目的是探讨 NSCLC 患者呼出气冷凝液（EBC）中 19q 的 MAs，研究其与吸烟习惯、肿瘤生物学行为及其预测生存能力的可能相关性。
纳入 34 例 NSCLC 患者和 33 例健康对照者（19 名非吸烟者和 14 名吸烟者）。所有受试者均进行了 EBC 的 19q 微卫星分析。25 例患者接受了至少 102 周的随访，或随访至死亡。
在健康非吸烟者的 EBC 或 WB 中未发现 MAs，而健康吸烟者的 EBC 中发现了 16%的呼出 MAs，NSCLC 患者的 EBC 中发现了 25%的呼出 MAs。MA 的数量与吸烟量和 NSCLC 患者的生存率有关。
总之，19q 的 MAs 在 EBC-DNA 中的研究是可行的。这些遗传改变是肺癌特异性的，并可预测 NSCLC 患者的生存。我们的结果为 NSCLC 患者分析 19q 呼出 MA 提供了有趣的临床前景。
