title: Phosphorylated EGFR at tyrosine 1173 correlates with poor prognosis in oral squamous cell carcinomas.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and phosphorylated EGFR (pEGFR), in oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC). We examined their utility as prognostic markers by relating to clinicopathological characteristics and the clinical outcome.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analysed 74 primary OSCC and examined immunohistochemical expression of EGFR and pEGFR (phosphorylated at tyrosine 1173) using tissue microarray technology. Their role in survival was assessed by Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Epidermal growth factor receptor expression was observed in all cases, and pEGFR expression was observed in 41.1% of the cases. We found a significant correlation between EGFR and pEGFR expression (P = 0.003). In the multivariable analysis for cause-specific survival, we found an independent prognostic value for pEGFR expression (HR 7.94, 95% CI 2.03-31.06, P = 0.003) and for clinical stage (HR 2.88, 95% CI 1.10-7.53, P = 0.031). For recurrence-free survival, clinical stage (HR 6.59, 95% CI 1.36-31.90, P = 0.019) and tumour grade (HR 3.35, 95% CI 1.07-10.44, P = 0.037) presented independent prognostic value.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Epidermal growth factor receptor is highly expressed in OSCC and is phosphorylated in more than one-third of the cases. The independent value of pEGFR expression in cause-specific survival of OSCC suggests that this marker may serve as reliable biological marker to identify high-risk subgroups and to guide therapy.
authors: Medicine and Oral Surgery Department, Dental Sciences Group - Health Sciences Research Centre, Higher Institute of Health Sciences (ISCSN), CESPU, Paredes, Portugal.
authors: Ls
authors: L
authors: Monteiro
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Ricardo
authors: Ml
authors: M
authors: Delgado
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Garcez
authors: B
authors: B
authors: do Amaral
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Lopes
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate; D014443:Tyrosine / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014443:Tyrosine; D066246:ErbB Receptors
keywords: EGFR; oral cancer; pEGFR; prognosis; tissue microarray