Immunohistochemical Expression of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Abstract

Introduction: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling plays an important role in various cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We aimed to evaluate immunoexpression of EGFR in HCC and surrounding non-tumor liver tissue and to correlate it to multiple clinicopathologic data. Material and Methods: We analyzed 60 patients with HCC for multiple clinicopathologic characteristics and survival. Presence of the immunosignal and the percentage of positive tumor cells at the whole tumor tissue sample and adjacent cirrhotic liver tissue were semi-quantitatively determined. Results: Nineteen patients (31.67%) were female and 41 (68.33%) were male ranging in age from 31 to 85 years, median 61.88±10.51. Mean survival time for female patients was 8.86±1.76 months, for male 13.03±1.50 months and overall survival was 11.6051±1.19 months. The most patients had: T2 status (41.67%), no enlarged lymph nodes (90%), vascular invasion (63.33%) and well differentiated (43.33%) tumors. EGFR immunoexpression was determined in range from 0% to 100% in both tumor and non-tumor tissue with mean value of 39.58% in tumor and 86.86% in cirrhotic tissue (p<0.00). Higher percent of tumor EGFR positive cells were found in cases with higher T status, higher levels of AFP and poorly differentiated carcinoma, but not significantly. Lower percent of tumor EGFR positive cells were found in patients with vascular invasion and enlarged lymph nodes, but also not significantly. EGFR expression in tumor tissue significantly influenced survival of the patients (p<0.05). Conclusion: The study showed that expression of EGFR in lower percentage of tumor cells was associated to favorable prognosis, making it a potential prognostic marker and therapeutic target.

<p>Relevance of EGFR Between Serum VEGF and MMP-9 in Primary Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients with Transarterial Chemoembolization</p>

“…5 Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) immunoexpression was determined in tissues from patients with HCC, with a mean value of 39.58%, by immunohistochemical (IHC) staining. 6 EGFR immunoexpression is essential for the efficacy and prognosis of patients with HCC to pay attention to the immunoexpression of EGFR in the progress of the disease.…”

Mechanisms and therapeutic targets of ErbB family receptors in hepatocellular carcinoma: a narrative review

“…EGFR is overexpressed in 68–96% of HCC cases, while mutations occur in only 1% of cases ( 34 - 36 ). A study has shown that EGFR expression is closely related to the degree of differentiation, proliferative activity, incidence of intrahepatic metastasis, and prognosis of HCC patients, with high EGFR expression possibly indicating poor prognosis in HCC patients ( 37 ). Song et al .…”

Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor immunohistochemical expression in hepatocellular carcinoma without Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor exons 18–21 mutations

“…The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a transmembrane tyrosine kinase receptor, upon ligand binding, activates many diverse signaling pathways, which play a role in cell proliferation, differentiation, and survival [9,10]. Overexpression of EGFR is reported in many cancers including HCC and high expression is correlated to advanced stage and shorter survival [11,12]. EGFR targeted therapies, monoclonal antibodies and small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors have given some benefits to patients with HCC [8], so additional research on EGFR immunoexpresion and EGFR mutations is still needed, especially in parts of the world where it has not been done yet.…”