PROGNOSTIC SIGNIFICANCE OF EPIDERMAL GROWTH FACTOR RECEPTOR (EGFR) IN HEAD AND NECK TUMOURS AT SOME SELECTED HOSPITAL IN GHANA

Abstract

Background: Head and neck Tumour (HNT) are tumour of the paranasal sinuses, the salivary glands and the upper aero¬digestive tract. EGF can stimulate cell proliferation, cell differentiation, cell growth, migration, and inhibit apoptosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of EGFR in head and neck tumour. Method: EGFR expression was analyzed using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemical staining on tissue samples from a consecutive series of 150 head and neck tumour patients who underwent tumor resections between 2014 and 2018. Results: The relationship between EGFR expressions, clinicopathological factors, was investigated. qRT-PCR results showed that the EGFR expression was high in tumor tissue samples than in the normal head and neck tissues. High and low EGFR was compared with ages ≤40,>40 in the head and neck cancer of pvalue 0.03. There was a significant difference between the histological differentiation of the malignant tumour with p values of 0.001, when well, moderate and poor was compared. There was a significant difference (p-value 0.012) between the I-II and III-IV tumour stages when the high level and low expression of EGFR were compared. Conclusion: Our data suggest that EGFR plays an important role in head and neck tumour progression and that its expression will provide baseline data to facilitate identification of new molecular targeting therapeutics.