Immunohistochemical Expression of EGFR in the Patients Having Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (EGFR)

September 21, 2024 updated by: Mariya Farooq, Combined Military Hospital, Pakistan

Immunohistochemical Expression of EGFR in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma- A Cross Sectional Study

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the top 10 most common malignancies worldwide. Oral squamous cell carcinoma forms a major health problem in many countries. The reason for the high incidence of oral cavity cancers in Pakistan, and South Asia in general, is the frequent, persistent, and prevalent use of substances classified as oral cancer risk factors. These include betel quid, areca nut, smoking, smokeless tobacco, viral infections such as EBV, HPV, poor oral hygiene (including sharp teeth and decay), ultraviolet (UV) exposure, nutrition, and genetic predisposition.

For several decades the management of OSCC consisted of surgery with or without radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy. Associated with worse prognosis, overexpression of EGFR may lead to invasion, cellular migration, enhanced angiogenesis, decreased cell apoptosis, and increased metastatic potential. However, advances in immunotherapy have had a major impact on cancer treatment.

This study was exclusively designed to highlight the immunohistochemical detection of expression pattern of EGFR in already diagnosed cases of lip and OSCC in histopathology dept of AFIP and its correlation with the grade of the tumor. In this study, contact details of all diagnosed cases of SCC of lips and oral cavity from June to November 2023 were taken from the archives of Histopathology department. The patients were contacted for consent approval for participation. The data was collected (as per proforma attached), including demographic details, location of tumor. Blocks were retrieved, grade of tumor was identified followed by the application of EGFR marker. Patterns of expression of EGFR were evaluated and compared with grade of tumor to strengthen the correlation of this association.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

Oral SCC is a type of cancer that develops from the oral epithelium and accounts for more than 90% of all oral malignancies, with a death rate of more than 140,000 cases globally. It is an invading neoplasm of epithelial origin with various stages of differentiation of squamous cells having a tendency for early and widespread metastatic spread to lymph nodes. It primarily affects individuals in their fifth to sixth decades of life who drink or smoke.

The diagnosis of OSCC requires a combined approach of clinical evaluation, radiological imaging, along with histopathological evaluation. The gold standard for diagnosing OSCC is an incisional/excisional biopsy. Histopathologically, OSCC is characterized by the existence of neoplastic epithelial cells that are invading the underlying connective tissue. The differentiation degree of neoplastic cells determines the histological grade of OSCC, which is an important prognostic factor.

Treatment of OSCC, depending on the current stage of the condition, can be surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or even a combined approach comprising all these options. Early-stage OSCC can often be cured with surgery or radiotherapy, whereas advanced-stage OSCC has been associated with a worse prognosis.

In conclusion, OSCC is a significant global health issue with an elevated mortality and morbidity in patients with head and neck cancer. Early detection and prompt treatment are crucial in improving the prognosis of OSCC. Oral pathologists and clinicians ought to be mindful of the risk factors, clinical characteristics, and screening requirements for OSCC to ensure timely and accurate diagnosis and treatment for the patients. Targeted therapy has evolved recently as an important treatment modality for cancer, and the most extensively studied pathways for targeted therapy are those related to EGFR.

In the era of personalized medicine, it has been largely accepted that cancer therapy protocols should be devised in light of tumor characteristics of loco-regional population. Previous studies has revealed that the immunohistochemical overexpression of EGFR correlates with poor prognosis. EGFR overexpression is considered an attractive target for anti-EGFR therapy in various tumors. In targeted therapy, entire focus will be on EGFR. This protein has been discovered in 90% of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. Overexpression of EGFR has unfavorable clinical outcome, poor prognosis and low survival rates in OSCC. To make the diagnosis, clinical correlation with histopathological investigations should be prioritized. There is a strong rationale supporting EGFR-targeting in OSCC. HNSCC is often treated with anti-EGFR antibodies.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

61

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • Punjab
      • Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan, 46000
        • Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Combined Military Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

All the recent biopsy specimens of OSCC submitted to AFIP will be retrieved from the archives of Histopathology department and selected through non probability convenience sampling method.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Cases of surgically treated lip/oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma
  • Patients of all age groups, irrespective of their gender
  • Patients with a tumor located in the tongue, inferior and superior gingivae, buccal mucosa, floor of the mouth, palate, alveolus and vestibule(buccal/labial and mandible/maxilla)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • All specimens with inadequate or poor fixation.
  • All specimen of patients having received chemotherapy/radiotherapy prior to surgery
  • Very scanty tissue biopsies or those with extensive tissue necrosis
  • Patients not consenting to be the part of the study

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Different Grades of squamous cell carcinoma
Diagnostic test: Biopsy specimens Fresh sections from formalin fixed and paraffin embedded block with sections from the tumor will be prepared followed by Hematoxylin and Eosin staining according to the standard protocol.
Appropriate sections from the tumor will be selected basing the choice on tumor content and viability eventually followed by EGFR application which will reveal a brown membrane positivity for the tumor. Total score for RGFR will be calculated by the histopathologists.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Correlation of EGFR expression with tumor
Time Frame: 05 months
To determine the correlation of EGFR with tumor and to establish EGFR as a prognostic marker
05 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Association of EGFR expression with tumor
Time Frame: 05 months
The EGFR expression was checked for any association with the tumor. A p value of less than 0.05 was taken as significant.
05 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Mariya Farooq, BDS, AFIP, Combined Military Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

August 26, 2023

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 30, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

December 28, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 18, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 18, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

September 23, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 24, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 21, 2024

Last Verified

September 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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