title: Characterisation and predictive value of epidermal growth factor receptor status using quantitative real-time PCR combined with immunohistochemistry on non-small cell lung cancer specimens.
abstract: The frequency of increased EGFR-mRNA expression was determined in 57 patients suffering from NSCLC by applying quantitative real-time PCR. The findings were correlated with clinical parameters and the immunohistochemical (IHC) markers EGFR, c-erbB-2, c-erbB-3, Ki-67 and p53 on cryostat sections. Of the patients 46% showed increased EGFR-mRNA, 35% revealed an increased IHC-EGFR expression; 16% of the patients showed a combined positivity and 35% a combined negativity when applying both methods, and 17 (30%) of the cases revealed increased EGFR-mRNA without IHC-EGFR expression. This subgroup was characterised by p53 coexpression and the highest frequency of deaths (35% vs. 20%) indicating a more aggressive tumour type. In contrast to IHC - where positivity was seen predominantly in squamous cell carcinomas (48% vs. 27%) - EGFR-mRNA expression was observed equally in both histological subtypes (48% vs. 43%). PCR-EGFR and IHC-EGFR tumour typing identifies different tumour characteristics with different clinical courses. Whether this combined typing could help to identify patients who respond to anti-EGFR therapies is worth further testing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria. wolfgang.hilbe@uibk.ac.at
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hilbe
authors.forename: Margit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dlaska
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dirnhofer
authors.forename: Hans-Christoph
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Duba
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Eisterer
authors.forename: Frieda
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Oberwasserlechner
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mildner
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schmid
authors.forename: Karlheinz
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ammann
authors.forename: Josef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Thaler
authors.forename: Ewald
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wöll
mesh_terms: D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013997:Time Factors; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D066246:ErbB Receptors