The Prognostic Impact of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) in Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia.

Expression of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (), an important proto-oncogene, regulates cell differentiation, proliferation, cell migration and survival in most of the cancer types. expression has been reported in Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML), however, many other reports nullified expression in AML. These contradictory data prompted us to reevaluate the expression of in AML and carry out a comparative survival analysis between expressing and non-expressing AML patients (Children and Acute Promyelocytic Leukaemia patients excluded). Bone marrow and/or peripheral blood samples were collected from 60 adult patients with AML with written informed consent. PCR, Real-Time Taqman gene expression assays were used for the detection of genetic alterations. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS software (IBM SPSS 20). In our study, expression was detected in 21 out of 60, in 35% (95% C.I. 23.45-48.48) AML patients. Overall survival was significantly shorter in patients with ( = < 0.01), with an average survival of 18.57 months (95% C.I. 12.42-24.73 months) compared with 31.27 months (95% C.I. 28.19-34.33 months) in patients without . expression was significantly higher in female patients compared to male ( = 0.037).This study confirms the presence of in AML and indicates that expression confers poor prognosis in AML. However, the underlying cause of this adverse prognostic effect has not been identified. Further clinical studies are warranted to determine the exact mechanism through which activity might contribute to AML progression and identify the potential therapeutic target for the reversal of resistance to conventional chemotherapeutics.