Hoogsteen Ilse J, Peeters Wenny J M, Marres Henri A M, Rijken Paul F J W, van den Hoogen Franciscus J A, van der Kogel Albert J, Kaanders Johannes H A M
Department of Radiation Oncology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, The Netherlands.
Radiother Oncol. 2005 Aug;76(2):213-8. doi: 10.1016/j.radonc.2005.06.030.
To evaluate erythropoietin receptor (EPOR) expression in human head and neck squamous cell carcinomas and correlate this to the presence of tumor hypoxia and treatment outcome.
Eighty-five patients with locally advanced tumors of the head and neck were included. Of these, 34 were given the hypoxia marker pimonidazole i.v. 2 h prior to biopsy taking. Contiguous paraffin embedded biopsies were stained for EPOR expression and, if administered, for pimonidazole binding. Immunohistochemical staining for EPOR was interpreted semiquantitatively according to a composite scale, ranging from 0 to 200. Pimonidazole positivity was quantitatively analyzed in a semiautomatic way.
Diffuse weak-to-moderate cytoplasmic and membrane EPOR immunostaining was observed in 80 of 85 biopsies (94%) and staining scores ranged from 0 to 198 (median 100). No correlations were found between EPOR expression, and the primary tumor site, T-stage or N-stage. Also, There was no association between EPOR expression and treatment outcome. The degree of tumor hypoxia represented by the relative area of pimonidazole binding varied between 0 and 26% (median 7%). Contiguous biopsy sections showed a lack of colocalization between EPOR and pimonidazole binding.
EPOR expression was demonstrated in the majority of the head and neck tumors. No colocalization was found between EPOR expression and pimonidazole binding indicating that the presence or absence of hypoxia did not necessarily indicate a distinct pattern of EPOR expression. The level of EPOR expression was not of prognostic significance in patients with head and neck cancer, although small effects of EPOR cannot be excluded because of the sample size of this study.
评估促红细胞生成素受体（EPOR）在人类头颈部鳞状细胞癌中的表达情况，并将其与肿瘤缺氧的存在及治疗结果相关联。
纳入85例局部晚期头颈部肿瘤患者。其中34例在活检前2小时静脉注射缺氧标志物匹莫硝唑。对相邻的石蜡包埋活检组织进行EPOR表达染色，若已注射匹莫硝唑，则进行其结合情况染色。根据0至200的综合评分对EPOR进行半定量免疫组化染色解释。以半自动方式对匹莫硝唑阳性情况进行定量分析。
85例活检组织中有80例（94%）观察到弥漫性弱至中度细胞质和膜EPOR免疫染色，染色评分范围为0至198（中位数为100）。未发现EPOR表达与原发肿瘤部位、T分期或N分期之间存在相关性。此外，EPOR表达与治疗结果之间也无关联。匹莫硝唑结合的相对面积所代表的肿瘤缺氧程度在0至26%之间变化（中位数为7%）。相邻活检切片显示EPOR与匹莫硝唑结合之间缺乏共定位。
在大多数头颈部肿瘤中均证实有EPOR表达。未发现EPOR表达与匹莫硝唑结合之间存在共定位，这表明缺氧的存在与否不一定表明EPOR表达有明显模式。尽管由于本研究的样本量，不能排除EPOR的微小影响，但EPOR表达水平对头颈部癌患者无预后意义。
