EGFR EXPRESSION FREQUENCY IN NON-SMALL CELL LUNG CANCER: AN IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL STUDY
Main Article Content
Keywords
Prevalence, Periodontology, Adult gingivitis, Gingivitis, Plaque
Abstract
Background: Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) overexpression is commonly observed in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and is associated with tumor progression and poor prognosis.
Objectives: To determine the frequency of EGFR expression in non-small cell lung cancer using immunohistochemical analysis.
Methodology: This cross-sectional study study was conducted at Rehman Medical College, Peshawar from Jan 2021 to June 2021, where formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue samples from patients diagnosed with NSCLC between January 2020 and December 2021 were collected. The study included 125 patients with a confirmed histopathological diagnosis of NSCLC who had not received prior EGFR-targeted therapy. Immunohistochemical staining for EGFR was performed on 4-μm-thick sections of FFPE tissue samples. The evaluation of EGFR expression was performed by two independent pathologists who were blinded to the clinical data. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 27.
Results: The study included 125 NSCLC patients with a mean age of 60.3 years. The gender distribution was nearly even, with 52% male and 48% female patients. Adenocarcinoma was the most common histological subtype (60%), followed by squamous cell carcinoma (32%) and large cell carcinoma (8%). This data provides a clear demographic and clinical profile of the study population. The study found that 44% of the NSCLC patients (55 out of 125) had positive EGFR expression, with a combined immunohistochemistry score of 2 or higher. Conversely, 56% of the patients (70 out of 125) showed negative EGFR expression, with a score below 2.
Conclusion: The study reveals that nearly half of the NSCLC patients exhibit positive EGFR expression, indicating a potential target for targeted therapies. This finding underscores the importance of EGFR status in the clinical management of NSCLC and highlights the need for further research to optimize treatment strategies.
References
2. Riely GJ, Yu HA. EGFR: the paradigm of an oncogene-driven lung cancer. Clin Cancer Res. 2021;27(6):1509-1512.
3. Huang L, Fu L. Mechanisms of resistance to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Acta Pharm Sin B. 2020;10(9):1653-1664.
4. Mok TS, Wu YL, Thongprasert S, et al. Gefitinib or carboplatin-paclitaxel in pulmonary adenocarcinoma. N Engl J Med. 2020;361(10):947-957.
5. Ke EE, Wu YL. EGFR as a pharmacological target in EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer: where do we stand now?. Front Pharmacol. 2020;11:1247.
6. Sullivan I, Planchard D. Next-generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors for treating EGFR-mutant lung cancer beyond first line. Frontiers in medicine. 2017 Jan 18;3:76.
7. Forde PM, Ettinger DS. Managing acquired resistance in EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer. Clin Adv Hematol Oncol. 2015 Aug 1;13(8):528-32.
8. Travis WD, Brambilla E, Nicholson AG, et al. The 2015 World Health Organization classification of lung tumors: impact of genetic, clinical, and radiologic advances since the 2004 classification. J Thorac Oncol. 2020;10(9):1243-1260.
9. Kim HJ, Lee KY, Kim YC, et al. EGFR mutation status predicts the incidence and outcome of central nervous system metastasis in EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer. Cancer Res Treat. 2020;52(1):220-229.
10. Nosaki K, Seto T, Azuma K, et al. Ceritinib in untreated ALK-rearranged non-small cell lung cancer. N Engl J Med. 2020;376(10):1084-1094.
11. Riely GJ, Yu HA. EGFR: the paradigm of an oncogene-driven lung cancer. Clin Cancer Res. 2021;27(6):1509-1512.
12. Tan DS, Yom SS, Tsao MS, et al. The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer consensus statement on optimizing management of EGFR mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer: status in 2020. J Thorac Oncol. 2020;15(4):547-569.
13. Zhang YL, Yuan JQ, Wang KF, et al. The prevalence of EGFR mutation in patients with non-small cell lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Oncotarget. 2021;7(48):78985-78993.
14. Ke EE, Wu YL. EGFR as a pharmacological target in EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer: where do we stand now? Front Pharmacol. 2020;11:1247.
15. Tan DS, Yom SS, Tsao MS, et al. The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer consensus statement on optimizing management of EGFR mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer: status in 2020. J Thorac Oncol. 2020;15(4):547-569.
16. Sholl LM, Aisner DL, Allen TC, et al. Programmed death ligand-1 immunohistochemistry—best practices for selection of positive controls: development of a novel clinical practice guideline from the College of American Pathologists. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2021;145(5):543-549.
17. Huang L, Fu L. Mechanisms of resistance to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Acta Pharm Sin B. 2020;10(9):1653-1664.
18. Riely GJ, Yu HA. EGFR: the paradigm of an oncogene-driven lung cancer. Clin Cancer Res. 2021;27(6):1509-1512.
19. Mok TS, Wu YL, Thongprasert S, et al. Gefitinib or carboplatin-paclitaxel in pulmonary adenocarcinoma. N Engl J Med. 2020;361(10):947-957.
20. Nosaki K, Seto T, Azuma K, et al. Ceritinib in untreated ALK-rearranged non-small cell lung cancer. N Engl J Med. 2020;376(10):1084-1094.
Article Sidebar
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
All articles published in JPTCP are licensed under Copyright Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Muhammad Waqas Khan
Senior Lecturer, Department of Pathology Rehman Medical College, Peshawar
Shumaila Najeeb
Associate Professor Department of Histopathology, Mohiuddin Islamic medical college
AJK
Abdul Aziz Shaikh
Associate Professor Department of Pathology LUMHS Jamshoro
Jehangir Kazi
Senior Demonstrator Department of Pathology Sulaiman Roshan Medical College Tando Adam
Santosh Kumar Sidhwani
Associate Professor Department of Pathology, Mekran Medical College, Turbat
Ahmed Hussain Suhag
Assistant Professor Department of Physiology, Mekran Medical College, Turbat