Assessment of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) expression in human meningioma.
| Publication Type | Academic Article |
| Authors | Wernicke A, Dicker A, Whiton M, Ivanidze J, Hyslop T, Hammond E, Perry A, Andrews D, Kenyon L |
| Journal | Radiat Oncol |
| Volume | 5 |
| Pagination | 46 |
| Date Published | 05/30/2010 |
| ISSN | 1748-717X |
| Keywords | ErbB Receptors, Meningeal Neoplasms, Meningioma |
| Abstract | PURPOSE: This study explores whether meningioma expresses epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and determines if there is a correlation between the WHO grade of this tumor and the degree of EGFR expression. METHODS: Following institutional review board approval, 113 meningioma specimens from 89 patients were chosen. Of these, 85 were used for final analysis. After a blinded review, immunohistochemical stains for EGFR were performed. Staining intensity (SI) was scored on a scale 0-3 (from no staining to strong staining). Staining percentage of immunoreactive cells (SP) was scored 1-5 (from the least to the maximum percent of the specimen staining). Immunohistochemical score (IHS) was calculated as the product of SI and SP. RESULTS: Eighty-five samples of meningioma were classified in accordance with World Health Organization (WHO) criteria: benign 57/85 (67%), atypical 23/85 (27%), and malignant 5/85 (6%). The majority of samples demonstrated a moderate SI for EGFR. IHS for EGFR demonstrated a significant association between SI and histopathologic subtype. Also, there was a correlation between the SP and histopathologic subtype (p = 0.029). A significant association was determined when the benign and the atypical samples were compared to the malignant with respect to the SP (p = 0.009). While there was a range of the IHS for the benign and the atypical histologic subtypes, malignant tumors exhibited the lowest score and were statistically different from the benign and the atypical specimens (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this represents the largest series of meningioma samples analyzed for EGFR expression reported in the literature. EGFR expression is greatest in benign meningiomas and may serve a potential target for therapeutic intervention with selective EGFR inhibitors. |
| DOI | 10.1186/1748-717X-5-46 |
| PubMed ID | 20509969 |
| PubMed Central ID | PMC2890616 |