THE VALUE OF EPIDERMAL GROWTH-FACTOR RECEPTOR (EGFR) AS A TUMOR-MARKER FOR HUMAN ORAL PREMALIGNANT AND MALIGNANT LESIONS

A previous study demonstrated increased epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in oral dysplasia while another showed decreased EGFR in oral dysplasia. The present study examined immunohistochemical expression of EGFR in 33 dysplastic oral lesions as well as in 9 normal oral mucosa specimens, 12 hyperplastic oral lesions and 10 oral squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs). There were no significant differences in EGFR staining either in intensity or in the epithelial layers stained among the normal oral epithelium, hyperplastic and dysplastic lesions. In addition, no significant difference was noted between keratinized and non-keratinized specimens and among lesions from different sites. Oral SCCs demonstrated significantly stronger staining than the normal oral mucosa, hyperplastic and dysplastic lesions (p=0.0011). At this time, the conflicting data on the EGFR expression in oral dysplastic lesions indicate that this receptor is not a good marker for oral dysplasia. Because most of the available data (including our results) show that the majority of oral SCC overexpress EGFR, this receptor may be useful in the diagnosis and treatment of some oral cancers.