Background
Single tumors may show heterogeneity, and it is unclear whether biomarker expression in surgical and diagnostic biopsy samples correlates. Materials and
Conclusion
Assessment of biopsy samples with immunohistochemical staining is a feasible and reliable method for use in clinical decision making.
Methods
We retrospectively identified lung cancer patients who were diagnosed by biopsy and underwent surgery between January 2007 and October 2010 at the Shimane University Hospital, Shimane, Japan. Thirty-two patients were identified. The expression of four predictive biomarkers was assessed, namely excision repair cross-complementing gene 1 (ERCC1), ribonucleotide diphosphate reductase M1 (RRM1), thymidylate synthase (TS), and class III beta-tubulin (BT). We also compared immunohistochemical staining in diagnostic biopsy and corresponding resected surgical samples.
Results
Moderate correlation was seen between the expression of ERCC1, RRM1, TS, and BT in the biopsy and surgical specimens, with r values of 0.512 (p=0.003), 0.411 (p=0.020), 0.475 (p=0.006), and 0.404 (p=0.027), respectively.