ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the relationship between nucleotide excision repair gene ERCC1 and resistance to cisplatin in ovarian cancer.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The expression of gene ERCC1 in 58 ovarian cancer tissues and 4 cell lines were examined and its relationship with resistance to cisplatin were analyzed, the changes of sensitivity to cisplatin were observed after interference of ERCC1 gene with small interfering RNA (siRNA) in ovarian cancer cell lines.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In 58 ovarian cancer tissues, the positive rate of ERCC1 protein in chemoresistant cases (57.89%) was higher than that in chemo-sensitive cases (28.21%, P = 0.029). The mRNA levels of ERCC1 gene in ovarian cancer cell lines ES-2, SKOV3, COC1, COC1/DDP were related to cisplatin IC50 values (r = 0.932, P <0.05). The sensitivity of cell lines ES-2, SKOV3, COC1/DDP cells to cisplatin was increased by 53.88, 5.07, and 3.75 times, respectively, after RNA interfering ERCC1 gene.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>ERCC1 gene is associated with the resistance to cisplatin and the sensitivity to cisplatin can be enhanced by RNA interfering ERCC1 in ovarian cancer.</p>