title: Immunohistochemical detection of EGFR in paraffin-embedded tumor tissues: variation in staining intensity due to choice of fixative and storage time of tissue sections.
abstract: The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is highly expressed in a variety of solid malignant tumors and its expression has been correlated with disease progression and poor survival. With the advent of targeted therapies, especially IMC-C225 (Cetuximab), a monoclonal antibody (MAb) directed against the EGFR, there is an increasing interest in immunohistochemistry (IHC)-based EGFR screening methods using paraffin-embedded tumor specimens to select cancer patients eligible for treatment with Cetuximab. With the EGFRpharmDX kit, a complete assay for demonstration of EGFR is now available. Because no information about the preservation of the EGFR under various conditions of fixation is available, we performed a prospective study on a panel of commonly used fixatives to determine optimal tissue preservation protocols. The stability of the epitope on cut tissue sections stored for a period up to 24 month was also tested using material originating from patients with head and neck cancer, non-small-cell lung carcinomas, and colorectal adenocarcinomas. Depending on the fixative used and the time of storage of cut tissue sections, a variation in the determined level of EGFR expression was demonstrated compared with the most optimal fixation procedure.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pathology, University Witten/Herdecke, Helios-Klinikum, Wuppertal, Heusnerstr.40, 42283 Wuppertal, Germany.
authors.forename: Derek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Atkins
authors.forename: Karl-August
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Reiffen
authors.forename: Conny Lund
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Tegtmeier
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Winther
authors.forename: Marcellus S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Bonato
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Störkel
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005404:Fixatives; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D010232:Paraffin; D013048:Specimen Handling; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D013997:Time Factors; D016610:Tissue Embedding
chemical_list: D005404:Fixatives; D010232:Paraffin; D066246:ErbB Receptors