Study of EGFR mutations in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas

Abstract

Introduction: Squamous carcinoma is the commonest malignancy of the head and neck region. It is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) regulates downstream signaling pathways through its tyrosine kinase (TK) domains that play a role in cell proliferation and survival. EGFR mutations have been found to occur between exons 18 to 21 on chromosome 7. Limited studies are available on EGFR-TK mutations in the head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) globally. This study explores EGFR mutations in 30 HNSCC cases presenting to a tertiary care hospital over a period of two years. Material and Methods: Fresh tumor tissue was collected from the resection specimens of cases of primary HNSCC. Cases with pre-operative therapy were not included. Parameters in the form of patients' age, gender, smoking/tobacco intake, site of the lesion were recorded. Tumor parameters after histopathological examination were recorded in the form of TNM stage, tumor grade. DNA was extracted from fresh tissue of all the cases. EGFR Mutation Analysis Kit assay was used to detect mutations of the EGFR gene. PCR was run and results were analyzed. Results: EGFR Mutations were found in 6.7%of the patients. There was no significant association of the EGFR Mutation with the studied parameters. Conclusion: EGFR mutations are present in a subset of patients of HNSCC. Patients having these mutations may benefit from targeted therapy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

Recent findings on the impact of ErbB receptors status on prognosis and therapy of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

“…Furthermore, beside the reported alterations in expression levels, ErbB activity is known to be affected by polymorphisms and mutations in the encoding genes. In this regard, different authors have reported that, albeit at an overall low frequency, EGFR mutations affect a proportion of HNSCCs ( 24 , 56 , 57 , 59 ). These mutations frequently occur in the intracellular kinase domain (ICD), in particular in exons 18–21, often leading to aberrant receptor signaling and conferring resistance to targeted therapies ( 8 ; Table 1 ).…”

Chitosan Oligosaccharide Prevents Afatinib-Induced Barrier Disruption and Chloride Secretion through Modulation of AMPK, PI3K/AKT, and ERK Signaling in T84 Cells

“…The epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFRs), a family of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), are the most extensively studied drug targets for many tumors as they are aberrantly expressed in cancer cells and are actively involved in cell proliferation and differentiation [ 1 , 2 ]. Several small molecule EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have been developed for the treatment of cancers overexpressing EGFRs including breast cancer, head and neck cancer, and non-small cell lung cancer [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. However, these EGFR-TKIs induce an on target-off tumor effect since normal cells including intestinal epithelial cells also express EGFRs.…”