Department of Laryngological Oncology, Medical University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland.
Med Sci Monit. 2009 Oct;15(10):CR518-527.
Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and proinflammatory cytokines have been implicated in the dysregulated cell growth and increased aggressiveness of human cancers. The purpose of this study was to analyze EGFR immunoexpression in neoplastic tissues and IL-6 and TNFalpha secretion by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and to investigate their relationships with certain clinicopathological characteristics.
MATERIAL/METHODS: Tumor expression of membranous and cytoplasmic EGFR was measured in 45 cases of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma by IHC staining. IL-6 and TNFalpha concentrations in 21-h PBMC cultures were measured by ELISA. Relationships between EGFR and cytokine secretion and clinicopathological characteristics such as pT status, pN status, and TFG classification, which include the parameters of the most invasive zones of neoplastic tissue and histological grade, were analyzed.
The membranous EGFR index had a very strong association with pT stage, mode of invasion, and lymphocytic plasma infiltration of the tumor stroma. Relationships between the cytoplasmic EGFR index and nuclear polymorphism as well as TFG score for advanced carcinomas and histological grade in less invasive tumors were highlighted. The correlations of IL-6 and TNFalpha levels with TFG score, pT status, histological grade, and mode of tumor invasion were also significant.
These findings confirmed the importance of EGFR immunoexpression rate as well as IL-6 and TNFalpha secretion by PBMCs as potential biomarkers for assessing the aggressive tumor phenotype in laryngeal carcinoma.
表皮生长因子受体（EGFR）和促炎细胞因子与人类癌症中失调的细胞生长和侵袭性增加有关。本研究的目的是分析肿瘤组织中 EGFR 的免疫表达以及外周血单个核细胞（PBMC）中 IL-6 和 TNFalpha 的分泌，并探讨它们与某些临床病理特征的关系。
材料/方法：通过免疫组织化学染色测量 45 例喉鳞状细胞癌中膜和细胞质 EGFR 的表达。通过 ELISA 测量 21 小时 PBMC 培养物中 IL-6 和 TNFalpha 的浓度。分析 EGFR 与细胞因子分泌与临床病理特征之间的关系，如 pT 分期、pN 分期和 TFG 分类，其中包括肿瘤组织最侵袭区的参数和组织学分级。
膜 EGFR 指数与 pT 分期、侵袭模式和肿瘤基质淋巴细胞浆浸润有很强的相关性。细胞质 EGFR 指数与核多形性以及高级癌的 TFG 评分和低侵袭性肿瘤的组织学分级之间的关系突出。IL-6 和 TNFalpha 水平与 TFG 评分、pT 分期、组织学分级和肿瘤侵袭模式之间的相关性也很显著。
这些发现证实了 EGFR 免疫表达率以及 PBMC 中 IL-6 和 TNFalpha 的分泌作为评估喉癌侵袭性肿瘤表型的潜在生物标志物的重要性。
