Occurrence of epidermal growth factor receptors in benign and malignant ovarian tumors and normal ovarian tissues: an immunohistochemical study.
Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R) was studied with monoclonal antibody 2E9 on 50 ovarian tumors of various histological types and 10 non-tumorous ovarian tissues by immunohistochemistry. Enhanced expression was observed in 26/50 (52%) of the tumors. Only 25 out of 46 epithelial tumors (54%) showed positivity in epithelial tumor cells. Staining was cytoplasmic in all cases. No correlation was established between EGF-R expression and the histological type of the epithelial tumor. Apart from EGF-R expression in tumor cells, low immunoreactivity was also observed in stromal and endothelial cells in both normal and tumorous ovarian tissues. Furthermore in 8/9 specimens containing necrotic areas, EGF-R was noticed in these areas as well. Both of the latter observations may have impact on the evaluation of the prognostic value of EGF-R activity in tumors, when based on EGF-R measurements using biochemical binding studies. We therefore recommend that EGF-R is measured with both methods in studies regarding its clinical value.
Henzen-Logmans
S C
SC
Department of Pathology, Dr. Daniel den Hoed Cancer Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
van der Burg
M E
ME
Foekens
J A
JA
Berns
P M
PM
Brussée
R
R
Fieret
J H
JH
Klijn
J G
JG
Chadha
S
S
Rodenburg
C J
CJ
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002288:Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D000232:Adenofibroma / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003536:Cystadenocarcinoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003537:Cystadenoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004715:Endometriosis / Q000473:pathology; D004848:Epithelium / Q000648:ultrastructure; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008875:Middle Aged; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010053:Ovary / Q000648:ultrastructure*
D066246:ErbB Receptors