Characterization of the expression and clinical features of epidermal growth factor receptor and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 in esophageal carcinoma

Abstract

Abstract. The present study aimed to understand the expression characteristics of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) in individuals of Uygur, Han and Kazak ethnicity with esophageal carcinoma in Xinjiang (China) and their interrelation analysis, and to investigate the expression differences in these genes between esophageal carcinoma and pericarcinoma tissue samples, and between the three ethnic groups. The expression levels of EGFR and VEGFR-2 from 119 pairs of esophageal carcinoma tissue and corresponding pericarcinoma tissue from Uygur, Han and Kazak patients with esophageal carcinoma were detected by immunohistochemistry following surgical resection, and an additional five carcinoma in situ specimens were also tested. The relative expression was analyzed among the ethnic groups and clinicopathological parameters. The positive rate of EGFR in esophageal carcinoma tissue from patients of Uygur, Han and Kazak heritage was 70.73, 68.42 and 67.5%, respectively. For VEGFR-2 the positive rate was 73.17, 68.42 and 67.5%, respectively. No significant difference was detected in their expression between the three ethnic groups (P>0.05); however, EGFR and VEGFR-2 overexpression were correlated with lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). VEGF expression was also correlated with the expression of VEGFR-2 in esophageal carcinoma tissues. EGFR was positive in carcinoma in situ samples, while VEGFR-2 was negative. The overexpression of EGFR is therefore an early event and may have a significant role in the progression of esophageal carcinoma pathogenesis. EGFR overexpression may correlate with the expression of VEGFR-2 in esophageal cancer. These results may aid the early diagnosis of esophageal cancer, and the development of individual target treatment in the future.

Study of angiogenic signaling pathways in hemangioblastoma

“…Angiogenesis is the process of sprouting new vessels from pre‐existing vessels and is a key driver of growth and development of a variety of tumors . HB is a highly vascularized tumor, which urges sometimes even embolization prior to surgery due to its extensive blood vessels .…”

“…Angiogenesis is the process of sprouting new vessels from pre-existing vessels and is a key driver of growth and development of a variety of tumors. 6,8 HB is a highly vascularized tumor, which urges sometimes even embolization prior to surgery due to its extensive blood vessels. 26 Despite HB being a benign and non-metastatic tumor, a complete surgical resection is often difficult due to the multifocal distribution of this tumor, especially in VHL-associated cases.…”

“…VEGF can be induced either by hypoxia via hypoxia‐inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF1α) or by HIF1α independent mechanisms via oncogenes, hormones or cytokines . Overexpression of VEGF and its receptors has been shown in several human tumors . Stromal derived factor‐1 alpha (SDF1α) is a potent chemoattractant and is secreted, among others, by brain glial cells and endothelial cells .…”

“…6 Overexpression of VEGF and its receptors has been shown in several human tumors. 7,8 Stromal derived factor-1 alpha (SDF1α) is a potent chemoattractant and is secreted, among others, by brain glial cells 9 and endothelial cells. 10 It interacts with its specific receptor CXC-motif chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4).…”

Galectin-1-mediated expression of proteins-regulators of cell cycle and growth factors in gastric cancer

“…Отсутствие окрашивания или выявление слабого по интен-сивности окрашивания менее чем в 25% опухо-левых клеток оценивали как низкую ýкспрессию VEGFR, при обнаружении сильного окрашивания менее 25% клеток и позитивной реакции любой интенсивности в более чем 25% опухолевых клет-ках -как высокую ýкспрессию рецептора [11]. Экспрессию EGFR оценивали только на мембране опухолевых клеток и считали низкой при выявле-нии продукта реакции менее чем на 10% клеток опухоли или незначительном количестве маркера на части мембраны более чем 10% опухолевых клеток.…”