Authors : Jing-Qiu Bu, Xi Bu, Peng Chen, Bing Liu and Fei Chen
Abstract: The aims of this study were to evaluate the expression of EGFR, Ki67 and p-EPK in the oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers and to investigate their clinical significance as prognostic markers. The 100 patients who underwent curative surgery for oral cavity or oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma in Renmin hospital of Beijing University between March 1999 and October 2010 were evaluated. The level of protein expression of EGFR, Ki67 and p-EPK was assessed by immunohisto chemistry. In situ hybridization was used to detect the existence of Human Papillomavirus (HPV). Nineteen of 75 patients with oropharyngeal cancer showed HPV-positive tumors and two of 72 patients with oral cavity cancer showed HPV-positive tumors. EGFR and Ki67 expression was significantly higher in oral cavity cancers than in oropharyngeal cancers. Loss of p-EPK occurred significantly more frequently in oral cavity cancers than in oropharyngeal cancers. Over expression of EGFR and Ki67 and loss of p-EPK were observed more frequently in HPV-negative tumors. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that Ki67 expression had a significantly unfavorable impact on relapse-free survival in oropharyngeal cancer. Researchers conclude that the expression levels of EGFR, Ki67 and p-EPK differ between oropharyngeal and oral cavity cancer and it may be attributed to HPV-related molecular pathogenesis. The expression of Ki67 might be an unfavorable prognostic marker for relapse-free survival in oropharyngeal cancer.
Jing-Qiu Bu, Xi Bu, Peng Chen, Bing Liu and Fei Chen, 2014. Expression Difference of EGFR, Ki67 and p-EPK in Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 13: 1056-1060.