Expression of epidermal growth factor receptor in oral and esophageal squamous‑cell carcinoma

Abstract

Background: Squamous‑cell carcinoma (SCC) represents the most common type of malignancies
in the oral cavity (O) and esophagus (E). Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) plays a key role
in numerous processes that affects tumor growth, progression, differentiation, invasion, metastasis,
and inhibition of apoptosis. In this study, we wanted to investigate the EGFR expression in OSCC
and ESCC cases. As well, another purpose was to observe if there exists any relation between its
expression and clinicopathologic factors. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study which
compares the EGFR protein expression between OSCC and ESCC.
Materials and Methods: This cross‑sectional study was performed on 46 paraffin blocks
(23 OSCC and 23 ESCC). The expression of EGFR was evaluated with immunohistochemical
technique. Data analyses were done using SPSS software by Fisher’s exact test. Significance was
assigned at P < 0.05.
Results: Out of 46 patients, 25 cases (54.3%) were male and 21 (45.7%) were female. Seventy‑eight
percent of OSCCs and 73.9% of ESCCs showed high expression of EGFR. No statistically significant
difference was observed between the two groups (P = 0.73). There were no statistically significant
correlations between EGFR expression and clinicopathologic factors (age, gender, grade, and stage)
of OSCCs (P > 0.05). A statistically significant correlation was found between EGFR expression
and stage in ESCCs group (P = 0.006).
Conclusion: No significant correlation was found between the expression of EGFR protein in
OSCCs and ESCCs. High expression of EGFR was observed in ESCCs with Stages II, III.