Blood Epidermal Growth Factor Research Articles

Value of detection of peripheral blood epidermal growth factor receptor gene mutation in predicting the therapeutic efficacy of non-small cell lung cancer

Objective To investigate the value of detecting peripheral blood epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene in predicting the therapeutic efficacy of advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Methods A total of 150 patients with stage ⅢA-Ⅳ non-small cell lung cancer diagnosed in Shanxi Provincial Cancer Hospital from October 2013 to February 2015 were collected. The peripheral blood EGFR gene was detected by amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS). The relationship between the mutation rate and the clinicopathological features of patients was observed, and 80 patients were selected into the follow-up treatment according to the inclusion criteria. Forty patients (all 19 or 21 exon mutations) in group A with EGFR gene mutation were treated with gefitinib orally. Forty patients with wild type EGFR gene in group B underwent 4 cycles of NP regimen. Efficacy and progression-free survival were evaluated in both groups. Results The mutation rate of EGFR gene was 33.3% (50 cases), of which 29 were exon 19, 18 were exon 21 and 3 were exon 18 and 20. The mutation rate of EGFR gene was higher in female, adenocarcinoma and non-smoker (all P < 0.05). Among the 80 patients who received follow-up treatment, the effective rate [67.5% (27/40) vs. 32.5% (13/40)] and disease control rate [85.0% (34/40) vs. 65.0% (26/40)] in group A were significantly higher than those in group B, and the median PFS was prolonged (9.00 months vs. 4.25 months), the differences were statistically significant (χ2= 9.800, P= 0.002; χ2= 4.267, P= 0.039; χ2= 15.792, P < 0.001). Conclusion The detection of peripheral blood EGFR mutation can be used to predict the efficacy of tyrosine kinase inhibitors in non-small cell lung cancer. Key words: Carcinoma, non-small-cell lung; Receptor, epidermal growth factor; Gene mutation; Tyrosine kinase inhibitor

Epidermal growth factor and platelet-derived growth factor in blood in diabetes mellitus

Epidermal and platelet-derived growth factors are potent mitogens for many types of cells, including smooth muscle cells. Epidermal growth factor in blood of humans is present both in platelets (as reflected in its serum level) and in plasma, the source(s) of which remains unknown. We assayed its level in 82 diabetic patients and 53 age-matched controls. In diabetes, epidermal growth factor level was increased in serum (191 +/- 43 vs 155 +/- 64 pmol/l, p = 0.0002) and plasma (53 +/- 9 vs 38 +/- 14 pmol/l, p less than 0.0001), without any difference between the patients with and without complications. Platelet-derived growth factor level was assayed only in serum of 19 patients with uncomplicated diabetes and found elevated (222 +/- 47) as compared with 13 controls (160 +/- 26 pmol/l), (p = 0.0002). Type of diabetes, its duration, mode of therapy, control, presence of retinopathy or albuminuria (in case of epidermal growth factor), as well as C-peptide age and sex did not correlate with epidermal or platelet-derived growth factor levels. Serum but not plasma epidermal and platelet-derived growth factor were negatively correlated with serum creatinine (correspondingly, r = -0.373, p = 0.0008 and r = -0.564, p = 0.0285). It is concluded that diabetes itself and not its complications cause increased levels of epidermal growth factor in plasma and serum and of platelet-derived growth factor in serum.

Epidermal growth factor in blood

The presence of receptors for epidermal growth factor (EGF) in a wide variety of human tissues and also some tumours indicates an as yet undefined role for EGF and it is therefore necessary to know precise concentrations in blood and other fluids. We have investigated the occurrence of EGF in the circulation and found that in platelet rich plasma, EGF levels were 51 ± 5 pmol/l (mean ± S.E.M., n = 6) while in platelet poor plasma levels were 2.9 ± 0.9 pmol/l . In contrast, serum EGF was 37 ± 7 pmol/l if separated at 30 min and rose to 117 ± 5 pmol/l if separated at 270 min. Gel chromatography showed that all residual EGF immunoreactivity in platelet poor plasma resided in the high molecular weight form thought to be non biologically active. In serum, delay in separation resulted in an increase in the proportion of EGF immunoreactivity co-eluting with EGF standard. These results suggest that EGF in the circulation is associated with platelets and that the process of blood coagulation leads to release of free EGF.