Decreased DNA repair gene XRCC1 expression is associated with radiotherapy-induced acute side effects in breast cancer patients

• Decreased XRCC1 expression is associated with the risk of radiotherapy induced acute side effects.
• Experimental cases have an increased frequency of micronucleus.
• There is a negative correlation between micronucleus frequency and XRCC1 protein expression.

DNA repair plays a critical role in response to ionizing radiation (IR) and developing of radiotherapy induced normal tissue reactions. In our study, we investigated the association of radiotherapy related acute side effects, with X-ray repair cross complementing group 1 (XRCC1) and Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1) DNA repair gene expression levels, their changes in protein expression and DNA damage levels in breast cancer patients. The study included 40 women with newly diagnosed breast cancer; an experimental case group (n = 20) with acute side effects and the control group (n = 20) without side effects. For gene and protein expression analysis, lymphocytes were cultured for 72 h and followed by in vitro 2 Gray (Gy) gamma-irradiation. For detection of DNA damage levels, lymphocytes were irradiated with in vitro 2 Gy gamma-rays and followed by incubation for 72 h. XRCC1 mRNA and protein expression levels were significantly higher in controls than in experimental cases (P = 0.020). In terms of DNA damage levels, an increased frequency of micronucleus (MN) was observed in experimental cases versus controls, but this association was not significant (P = 0.206). We also observed a significant negative correlation between MN frequency and XRCC1 protein levels in experimental (r =-0.469, P = 0.037) vs control (r =-0.734, P < 0.001). Our results suggested that decreased XRCC1 expression levels might be associated with the increased risk of therapeutic IR-related acute side effects in patients with breast cancer.