Kersting C, Packeisen J, Leidinger B, Brandt B, von Wasielewski R, Winkelmann W, van Diest P J, Gosheger G, Buerger H
Institute of Pathology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
J Clin Pathol. 2006 Jun;59(6):585-90. doi: 10.1136/jcp.2005.028373. Epub 2006 Feb 3.
New targeted cancer treatments acting against growth factor receptors such as the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) necessitate selecting patients for treatment with these drugs. Besides carcinomas, soft tissue sarcomas (STS) express EGFR and might thereby be a promising target for this new therapeutic strategy.
To test and compare different EGFR antibodies to determine the frequency of EGFR expression in STS.
302 consecutive specimens of STS were examined using the tissue microarray technique. EGFR expression levels were assessed by immunohistochemistry using five different commercially available antibodies. Gene amplification status was measured by fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH). Immunoreactivity and amplification status were correlated with clinicopathological features and follow up data available in 163 cases.
EGFR expression frequency ranged between 0.3% and 52.9%, depending on the antibody and scoring method used. In all, 3.5% of the tumours showed egfr gene amplification by FISH, which correlated with EGFR expression for three antibodies. Only one antibody had independent prognostic value in multivariate analysis and correlated with an unfavourable outcome; egfr gene amplification status showed no correlation with clinical features.
Frequency of EGFR immunopositivity in STS strongly depends on the antibody used, and only one of five antibodies tested predicted an unfavourable clinical outcome. This indicates that choice of primary antibody and scoring system have a substantial impact on the determination of EGFR immunoreactivity.
针对表皮生长因子受体（EGFR）等生长因子受体的新型靶向癌症治疗方法需要选择适合使用这些药物进行治疗的患者。除了癌组织外，软组织肉瘤（STS）也表达EGFR，因此可能是这种新治疗策略的一个有前景的靶点。
测试和比较不同的EGFR抗体，以确定STS中EGFR表达的频率。
使用组织芯片技术对302例连续的STS标本进行检测。使用五种不同的市售抗体通过免疫组织化学评估EGFR表达水平。通过荧光原位杂交（FISH）测量基因扩增状态。免疫反应性和扩增状态与163例患者的临床病理特征及随访数据相关联。
根据所使用的抗体和评分方法，EGFR表达频率在0.3%至52.9%之间。总体而言，3.5%的肿瘤通过FISH显示EGFR基因扩增，其中三种抗体的EGFR基因扩增与表达相关。在多变量分析中，只有一种抗体具有独立的预后价值且与不良预后相关；EGFR基因扩增状态与临床特征无相关性。
STS中EGFR免疫阳性频率强烈依赖于所使用的抗体，所测试的五种抗体中只有一种预测了不良临床结果。这表明一抗的选择和评分系统对EGFR免疫反应性的测定有重大影响。
