Prognostic Worth of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) in Patients with Head and Neck Tumors.

Precious Barnes,F A Yeboah,Christian Obirikorang,Michael Buenor Adinortey,Yaw Asante Awuku,Jinling Zhu,Patrick Akakpo,Foster Kyei,Benjamin Amoani,Roland Osei Saahene,Samuel Antwi

doi:10.1155/2020/5615303

Abstract

Introduction Head and neck tumors (HNT) are tumors that normally occur at the head and neck region of the body. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has been found to be highly expressed in breast and other tumors; therefore, there is the need to investigate the level of EGFR expression among patients with head and neck tumors in Ghana. Method The level of EGFR expression was determined in head and neck tumor and control head and neck tissues with quantitative real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry analysis. Results The level of EGFR expressions was high in tumor tissues than in the control tissues. There was a significant difference of p value 0.025 among the ages >40 and ≤ 40 when the high and low level of EGFR was compared in the head and neck malignant tumor. The area under the curve for the high expression of EGFR among the malignant head and neck tumors was 0.901 with a specificity of 86.4%. Conclusion EGFR can serve as a prognostic marker in monitoring patients with HNT as well as a molecular therapeutic target.

Highlights

Head and neck tumors (HNT) are tumors that normally occur at the head and neck region of the body
Age and tumor grade was significantly associated with Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression
The high levels of EGFR expression in head and neck tumors have been attributed to gene amplification which further result in a high rate of EGFR transcription and induce high mRNA levels [15]

Summary

Introduction

Head and neck tumors (HNT) are tumors that normally occur at the head and neck region of the body. The level of EGFR expression was determined in head and neck tumor and control head and neck tissues with quantitative real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry analysis. The level of EGFR expressions was high in tumor tissues than in the control tissues. There was a significant difference of p value 0.025 among the ages >40 and ≤ 40 when the high and low level of EGFR was compared in the head and neck malignant tumor. The area under the curve for the high expression of EGFR among the malignant head and neck tumors was 0.901 with a specificity of 86.4%. The tumor mostly originates from the mucosal surface of the epithelial tissues that line the head and neck regions, and gene such as EGFR which maintain the integrity of the epithelial tissues needs to be investigated.

Methods

Results

Conclusion