BACKGROUND Recently, there is an increasing interest in developing specific treatments while managing lung cancer cases. We tested the expressions of six molecular markers in the primary tumor and the metastatic lymph nodes of lung cancer patients at a single institution in China. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 48 patients with lung cancer who were admitted to the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of General Hospital of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, from September 2010 to February 2011 were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS One of the six biomarkers' expressions, excision repair cross-complementation group 1 (ERCC-1), was found to be significantly different in primary tumors and metastatic sites in different cancer subtypes. CONCLUSIONS The onset and pathogenesis of small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) and non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) are not completely understood, and the predictions of prognosis are not very reliable. The use of molecular markers to guide treatment of these cancers is currently in its initial stages.