The correlation of epidermal growth factor receptor to the genesis of colorectal cancer and cell proliferation and its clinicopathological significance

Objective To investigate the correlation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) to the genesis of colorectal cancer and cell proliferation and its clinicopathological significance.?Methods The expression of EGFR and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) was analyzed by ABC immunohistochemical method in 15 cases of normal colorectal epithelium, 28 cases of paracancerous mucosa, 11 cases of colorectal adenomas and 72 cases of colorectal carcinomas.?Results ① The positive rates of EGFR were 6.7%, 14.3%, 45.5% and 41.9% in normal colorectal epithelium, paracancerous mucosa, colorectal adenomas and colorectal carcinomas respectively. It was significantly higher in colorectal carcinomas than in normal colorectal epithelium and paracancerous mucosa(P0.01).②The expression of EGFR was independent of PCNA expression. ③ The expression of EGFR in colorectal cancers showed no definite relation to the manner of tumor growth, depth of infiltration, histology of the tumor, metastasis to lymph nodes, or to the clinical stage and prognosis of the cancer.?Conclusion The expression of EGFR plays a certain role in the genesis of colorectal carcinoma, but could not be regarded as an independent index indicating the malignancy and prognosis of colorectal cancer .