EGFR EXPRESSION IN PRIMARY EPITHELIAL URINARY BLADDER TUMORS AND ITS CORRELATION WITH CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL PARAMETERS

Abstract

Introduction: EGFR is over expressed in many epithelial tumors including urothelial carcinomas. Over expression of EGFR is considered as a poor prognostic marker in various studies. Thus, the present study was done to evaluate the EGFR expression in primary urothelial carcinomas and its correlation with clinicopathological parameters. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, observational study carried out between June 1, 2019 to May 31, 2020 in the Department of Pathology and Urology, Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla. One hundred and ninety seven patients with primary epithelial urinary bladder cancer were included. Patients with inammatory and metastatic lesions of urinary bladder and post chemoradiotherapy were excluded. The correlation between EGFR expression and the various factors like age (<60 years or ≥60 years), sex (male/female), size of tumor (< 3cm or ≥ 3cm), number of tumors (solitary/multiple) and grade (high/low) were evaluated using EpiInfoV.7 software version and chi-square test. Results: The age of patients ranged from 36 to 89 years. Male preponderance was observed. Most common clinical presentation was painless hematuria. EGFR positivity was observed in majority, 190 cases, irrespective of histological type and grade of tumor. No statistical signicant correlation was found between EGFR expression and age of patient, size of tumor, number of tumor and histological grades of urothelial tumors. Conclusion: Majority of urothelial carcinomas over expressed EGFR irrespective of their histological grade. So, targeted EGFR therapy in urothelial carcinomas can emerge as a novel therapy improving overall survival and prognosis of the patients with urothelial carcinomas.