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Quantitative analysis of TGF-alpha and EGFR mRNA in laryngeal carcinoma tissues
1Department of Otolaryngology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Medical University, Hangzhou 310009, China.
Objective:
To elucidate the stimulating role of the growth factor autocrine loop in the carcinogenesis and development of laryngeal carcinomas.
Methods:
The reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction technique was applied, and with beta-actin as internal standard, TGF-alpha and EGFR mRNA in laryngeal carcinomas, macroscopically normal laryngeal mucosas adjacent to the tumor and in vocal cord polyps were quantitatively examined.
Results:
The mRNA index of both TGF-alpha and EGFR in laryngeal carcinomas and adjacent mucosas was significantly higher than those in vocal cord polyps (P < 0.05). The index of TGF-alpha mRNA was significantly higher in laryngeal carcinomas than in mucosas adjacent to the tumor (P < 0.05).
Conclusions:
The autocrine system consisting of TGF-alpha and EGFR may play an important role in the very early stage of laryngeal carcinoma, or even when the tissue phenotypic alteration does not occur. The elevated TGF-alpha mRNA level may trigger a switch from genotypic alteration to the phenotypic. The results are expected to be a theoretical basis for the preventive chemotherapy of laryngeal carcinomas.