Abstract 2867: EGFR expression in T1/T2 oral tongue and floor of the mouth carcinoma

Abstract

Abstract Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a molecular maker that regulates the cell growth and plays an important role in tumor proliferation, invasion and metastasis formation. Objective: In this study we examined the association of immunohistochemical expression of EGFR with clinicopathological parameters, lymph node metastasis, regional recurrence and survival in selected cases of early squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the oral tongue and floor of the mouth. Methods: Patients with early stage SCC of oral tongue and floor of the mouth were treated surgically at a single institution from 1980 to 2010. Specimens from 139 patients were analyzed for EGFR expression using monoclonal antibody. Results: This study included 139 patients, 96 men (69%), with ages ranging from 21 to 85 years old (mean, 58 years). The tumor site was the tongue in 105 cases (75.5%) and the floor of the mouth in 34 (24.5%). With regard to pathological T-stage, 69 cases were pT1 (52.7%) and 62 were pT2 (47.3%). EGFR was overexpressed in 18 cases (13%) and was significantly associated with pT (p=0.017), thickness greater than 4mm (p=0.017), muscular invasion (p=0.014), desmoplastic reaction (p=0.021), inflammatory infiltrate (p=0.029), lymphatic embolization (p=0.016), mode of invasion (p=0.027) and perineural invasion (p=0.007). The overexpression of EGFR was also associated with lymph node metastasis (p=0.038) and regional recurrence (p=0.014). The cancer-specific survival in 5 years decreased from 90% in the group without EGFR expression to 75.3% in the EGFR overexpression group (p=0.019). Conclusion: The EGFR overexpression was associated with more aggressive pathological features, lymph node metastasis and regional recurrence in patients with early oral tongue and floor of the mouth squamous cell carcinoma. Citation Format: Natalie Kelner, Clovis Antonio Lopes Pinto, Luiz Paulo Kowalski, Claudia Malheiros Coutinho-Camillo. EGFR expression in T1/T2 oral tongue and floor of the mouth carcinoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 2867. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-2867