Epidermal growth factor in Dupuytren's disease

The aim of this article was to show the participation of epidermal growth factor (EGF) in the pathogenesis of Dupuytren's disease (palmar contracture). The concentration of EGF in specimens obtained from 68 patients with Dupuytren's contracture and 14 controls was examined immunochemically with the use of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The determined EGF concentration in pathologic aponeurosis with symptoms of Dupuytren's disease (median, 6.29 ng/g; range, 1.67 to 63.09 ng/g) showed significantly different values (p = 0.036) in comparison with the control group (median, 10.1 ng/g; range, 5.13 to 39.81 ng/g). The changes in EGF concentration were shown in tested groups of pathologic tissues that were formed according to the clinical stage of disease progression. The significantly lower concentration than that seen in the control group characterizes tissues with first and third degrees of palmar contracture progression (p = 0.025 and p = 0.018, respectively). In the group of patients with second-degree disease progression, the EGF level increased transiently. Nevertheless, in comparison with the other groups, the difference was not significant. The group with the fourth degree of the disease showed EGF concentrations that resembled the control values. The authors conclude that significant differences in levels of EGF concentration between contractured and normal fasciae may suggest the participation of this cytokine in the pathogenesis of Dupuytren's disease.