EGFR Expression in Gallbladder Carcinoma in North Indian Population.

OBJECTIVE Gallbladder carcinoma is the most frequent biliary tract carcinoma with over all very poor prognosis. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is known to be involved in carcinogenesis and overexpressed in various malignancies including head and neck, breast, lung and colon carcinomas. This study was done to explore the expression of EGFR in gallbladder carcinoma cases in the north Indian population so that it may be used as a therapeutic target in these patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS 59 cases of gallbladder carcinoma diagnosed by histopathological examination were included in study. Expression of EGFR was seen by immunohistochemistry method on histopathology slides. RESULTS Out of 59 gallbladder carcinoma cases 46 (78%) were female and 13 (22%) were male with female to male ratio of 3.54:1. Mean age was 51.71±11.32 years. On histopathological examination 51 (86.4%) cases were conventional adenocarcinoma, 2 (3.4%) adenosquamous carcinoma, 2 (3.4%) mucinous adenocarcinoma, 2 (3.4%) papillary adenocarcinoma, 1 (1.7%) signet ring cell carcinoma and 1 (1.7%) squamous cell carcinoma histological subtypes. EGFR expression was present in 31 (52.5%) of gallbladder carcinoma cases and strong EGFR expression was significantly associated with poor differentiation of tumour. CONCLUSION In our study EGFR was positive in the majority of gallbladder carcinoma cases. There was inverse correlation between differentiation of tumor and EGFR expression. Strong EGFR expression was significantly higher in poorly differentiated tumors compared to well differentiated tumors suggesting its role in prognosis. This also suggest that EGFR might have a role in tumor progression and aggressiveness. Therefore, EGFR have potential to be used as therapeutic target in significant number of patients. More larger sample studies are required to confirm our findings. EGFR may be further studied as therapeutic target in clinical trials in the Indian population to improve morbidity and mortality of gallbladder carcinoma patients. KEY WORDS EGFR Expression, Gallbladder Carcinoma, Immunohistochemistry, Targeted Therapy.