Epidermal growth factor in gastric carcinoma as a risk factor of postoperative recurrence

The expression of epidermal growth factor (EGF) was immuno-histochemically examined in the primary lesions of 201 patients with advanced gastric cancer who underwent curative resection. EGF-positive tumor cells were detected in the specimens of 75 patients (37.3%). A significant correlation was observed between the extent of lymph node metastasis and EGF expression (p < 0.01), indicating that EGF-positive cancer has a tendency to lymph node metastasis. The 2-year and 5-year survival rates of the patients with EGF-negative tumors were 77.2% and 63.0%, respectively, while those with EGF-positive tumors were 59.1% and 47.5% respectively. The difference in survival rates reached a maximum 2 years after surgery, indicating that the patients with EGF-positive gastric cancer had a higher risk of early recurrence. Therefore, the amount of EGF produced by a tumor may play some role in the growth of metastatic tumors and residual tumor cells after surgery, and thus be a potential risk factor in recurrence.