Expression of epidermal growth factor receptor and vascular endothelial growth factor in non-small cell lung cancer and its clinical significance / 第二军医大学学报

ABSTRACT

Objective: To observe the expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC), and to discuss its clinical significance. Methods: The expression of EGFR and VEGF was detected in 82 NSCLC and 20 non-malignant pulmonary samples by immunohistochemical method. The expression of EGFR and VEGF in NSCLC patients with various pathological characteristics was observed and the correlation between them was analyzed. Results: The positive rates of EGFR and VEGF in 82 NSCLC samples were obviously higher than those in the 20 non-malignant samples(53.66% vs 0 for EGFR, 62.20% vs 25% for VEGF, both P<0.05). The expression of EGFR in NSCLC samples was significantly correlated with the sex of patients, pathological types of cancer (squamous-cell carcinoma vs adenocarcinoma), presence of lymph node metastasis, and TNM stages(P<0.05). The expression of VEGF in NSCLC was correlated with lymph node metastasis and TNM stages (P<0.05). It was also noticed that higher expression of EGFR or VEGF was associated with poor prognosis of patients (P<0.05). The expression of EGFR was correlated with VEGF expression in pulmonary tissues of NSCLC patients(rs = 0.314, P<0.05). Conclusion: EGFR and VEGF are over-expressed in NSCLC tissues and the 2 are correlated with each other, which may serve as predicator for prognosis and a therapeutic target of NSCLC patients.