Interaction between epidermal growth factor and its receptor in progression of human gastric carcinoma

Abstract
The expressions of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and its receptor were studied immunohistochemically in a total of 156 gastric carcinomas; 26 early and 130 advanced. No EGF immunoreactivity was found in early carcinomas, while EGF‐positive tumor cells were detected in 38 (29.2%) of the 130 advanced carcinomas. EGF receptor immunoreactivity was detected in one (3.8%) of the 26 early carcinomas and in 44 (33.8%) of the 130 advanced carcinomas, the incidence being significantly different (ppp<0.05). Patients with synchronous expression of EGF and its receptor had a far poorer prognosis than those without EGF and receptor.