[Immunohistochemical study of epidermal growth factor receptor expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma]

Primary tumors from 31 patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) were immunohistochemically studied for the expression of markers of ESCC in order to define the clinical value of the levels of EGFR and HER-2 in the tumors. EGFR and HER-2 hyperexpression in the tumors of patients with ESCC was ascertained to be an important marker for the analysis of the clinical features of ESCC. There was an association of the elevated levels of EGFR and HER-2 in the tumors of ESCC patients with the presence of vascular tumor invasion (p = 0.006) and that with the poor outcome of the disease (p = 0.004). The findings suggest that estimation of changes found in EGRF and HER-2 expression in the tumors of patient with ESCC is of great interest for the individual prediction of the disease course and for the development of new approaches to treating these tumors, including targeted therapy against these tyrosine kinase receptors.