The expression of epidermal growth factor and its receptor in oral epithelial dysplasia and oral squamous cell carcinoma

Objective To investigate the relations between epidermal growth factor(EGF) or epidermal growth factor receptor(EGFR) and the carcinogenesis of oral mucosa.Methods ① The salivary of 12 patients with oral epithelial dysplasia and 40 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC) were measured for EGF concentration by radioimmunoassay(RIA) and the saliva of 30 normal adults as the control.②The expression of EGFR was observed in 10 cases of normal oral mucosa,16 cases of oral epithelial dysplasia and 30 cases of OSCC by immunohistochemical evaluation.Results ①The salivary EGF levels of oral epithelial dysplasia[(5.12±4.30)μg/L]were significantly higher than the sEGF levels of OSCC[(2.35±1.00) μg/L ]and normal oral mucosa[(2.18±1.02)μg/L](P0.01).②The expression of EGFR in oral epithelial dysplasia was significantly higher than normal oral mucosa(P0.05).The expression of EGFR in OSCC was significantly higher than normal oral mucosa(P0.01).Conclusions EGF and EGFR may correlate with early malignant transformation stage of oral mucosa.