Epidermal growth factor receptor protein overexpression and gene amplification are associated with aggressive biological behaviors of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Lin,Gang; Sun,Xiao‑Jiang; Han,Qian‑Bo; Wang,Zhun; Xu,Ya‑Ping; Gu,Jia‑Lei; Wu,Wei; Zhang,Gu; Hu,Jin‑Lin; Sun,Wen‑Yong; Mao,Wei‑Min

doi:10.3892/ol.2015.3277

Epidermal growth factor receptor protein overexpression and gene amplification are associated with aggressive biological behaviors of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Authors:
- Gang Lin
- Xiao‑Jiang Sun
- Qian‑Bo Han
- Zhun Wang
- Ya‑Ping Xu
- Jia‑Lei Gu
- Wei Wu
- Gu Zhang
- Jin‑Lin Hu
- Wen‑Yong Sun
- Wei‑Min Mao
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Affiliations: First Clinical Medical School, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325035, P.R. China, Department of Radiation Oncology, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310022, P.R. China, Department of Pathology, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310022, P.R. China, Department of Thoracic Surgery, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310022, P.R. China
Published online on: May 27, 2015 https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2015.3277
Pages: 901-906

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Abstract

Alterations of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), including overexpression or gene mutations, contribute to the malignant transformation of human epithelial cells. The aim of this study was to assess EGFR overexpression or gene amplification in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) tissue samples and investigate their correlations with biological behaviors. Tissue specimens from 56 patients with surgically resected ESCC were obtained for immunohistochemical analysis of EGFR expression and fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis of EGFR amplification. The data were statistically analyzed to determine the associations with patient clinicopathological and survival data. EGFR was overexpressed in 30 of the 56 (53.6%) ESCC samples and was associated with poor tumor differentiation (P=0.047). EGFR amplification was detected in 13 cases (23.2%) and was associated with advanced pathological stage (P=0.042) and tumor lymph node metastasis (P=0.002). The univariate analysis identified no association between EGFR overexpression and the overall survival (OS) of the patients. By contrast, EGFR amplification predicted ESCC prognosis (P=0.031), while the multivariate analysis revealed a marginal statistical significance for the association between EGFR amplification and OS (P=0.056). EGFR overexpression and increased EGFR copy number were common events in ESCC and contributed to malignant biological behaviors, including tumor dedifferentiation and lymph node metastasis. EGFR amplification may therefore be useful in predicting OS in patients with ESCC.

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