RATIONALE: Studying samples of tissue from patients with cancer in the laboratory may help doctors learn more about changes that occur in DNA and identify biomarkers related to cancer. PURPOSE: This research study is studying biomarkers in tissue samples from patients with recurrent and/or metastatic squamous cell cancer of the head and neck previously treated with cisplatin with or without cetuximab.
OBJECTIVES: * To investigate the association between ERCC1 expression and clinical outcomes (response rate, progression-free survival, and overall survival) in patients with recurrent and/or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck who received cisplatin with versus without cetuximab on clinical trial ECOG-E5397. OUTLINE: Archived tumor tissue samples are analyzed for ERCC1 expression by IHC. ERCC1 levels (low or high) are assessed by an H-score and AQUA, a quantitative IHC analysis. Each patient's ERCC1 level result is then compared with the patient's clinical outcome.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
79
Association between ERCC1 expression (low or high) with clinical outcomes
Time frame: 1 month
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