Expression And Clinical Significance Of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor And Transforming Growth Factor-alpha In Lung Cancer

Objective To study the expression of epidermal growth factor receptor(EGFR) and transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-a)in tumor tissue to investigate their value for the development and prognosis of lung cancer.Methods The expression of EGFR and TGF-a in 36 lung cancers and 12 non-malignant pulmonary tissues obtained through thoracic operation and bronchoscopy were examined by S-P immunohistochemical technique.Results The positive rate of EGFR in the lung cancer cases was 55.56% and that in the non-malignant cases was 8.33%. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P<0.01). The positive rate of TGF-a in the lung cancer cases was 47.22% and that in the non-malignant cases was 0.00%. The difference of the two groups was statistically significant (P<0.01). The expression of EGFR and TGF-a in non-small cell lung cancer(EGFR 78.57%; TGF-a 57.14%) was significantly higher than that in small cell lung cancer (P<0.05). The expression of EGFR and TGF-a in lung cancer did not show a significant correlation with TNM stage(P>0.05). There was no significant difference with 1-year survival rates between the positive cases andthe negative cases of EGFR and TGF-a in lung cancer cases. Overexpression of both EGFR and TGF-a was found in 30.56% of tumors and their 1-year survival rates was 27.27%, which was significantly lower than other tumor cases (P<0.05).Conclusion There are overexpression of EGFR and TGF-a in the lung cancer tissues. The expression of EGFR and TGF-a in non-small cell lung cancer was significantly higher than that in small cell lung cancer. The expression of both EGFR and TGF-a has a negative effect on survival. EGFR and TGF-a may form an autocrine growth loop on the surface of lung cancer cells. The detection of EGFR and TGF-a in lung cancer may have value in assessment of prognosis.