Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor is a Marker for Syncytiotrophoblastic Cells in Testicular Germ Cell Tumors
Posted on: Wednesday, 15 September 2004, 06:00 CDT
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Aims: The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has been implicated in the pathogenesis and prognosis of various tumor types. Novel treatment modalities that specifically inhibit EGFR-mediated signal transduction have recently become available. This development provides a rationale for the systematic identification of tumor types that express the EGFR and therefore represent potential candidates for EGFR-targeted therapy. The aim of this study was to investigate EGFR expression in a large series of testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT).
Methods and results: A total of 88 TGCT (37 of pure type and 51 of mixed type) comprising a total of 44 seminoma-, 49 embryonal carcinoma-, 32 yolk sac tumor-, 28 teratoma- and 7 choriocarcinoma- components were immunostained for EGFR. EGFR reactivity was observed in stromal cells of embryonal carcinomas (29%) and in epithelial compartments of teratomas (71%). In addition, EGFR staining was consistently detected in syncytiotrophoblastic cells of all tumor components.
To study the EGFR as a marker for syncytiotrophoblastic cells, adjacent sections of 38 tumor samples with syncytiotrophoblasts were stained for EGFR and -HCG. EGFR staining, similar to -HCG immunohistochemistry, was able to efficiently label syncytiotrophoblastic cells in TGCT.
Conclusions: This study shows that EGFR is expressed in a subset of testicular germ cell tumors and suggests that EGFR may be a useful marker for syncytiotrophoblastic cells.
L. HECHELHAMMER, S. STRKEL1, B. ODERMATT, P.U. HEITZ, W. JOCHUM
Institut fr Klinische Pathologie, Universittsspital Zrich, Schmelzbergstrasse 12, CH-8091 Zrich
1 Institut fr Pathologie, Heusnerstrasse 40, D-42283 Wuppertal
Copyright Urban & Fischer Verlag 2004
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