Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)

Breast malignant, males, children
Breast cancer
Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)

Author: Monika Roychowdhury, M.D. (see Authors page)

Revised: 20 October 2016, last major update January 2012

Copyright: (c) 2002-2016, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.

PubMed Search: Epidermal growth factor receptor [title] breast

Table of Contents

Terminology | Clinical features | Microscopic (histologic) images | Molecular / cytogenetics images

Cite this page: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). PathologyOutlines.com website. http://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/breastmalignantegfr.html. Accessed July 14th, 2017.

Terminology

Also called HER1; related to HER2

Clinical features

EGFR expression is associated with these breast cancers:

Basal-like (BMC Genomics 2007;8:258)
Metaplastic (76%, Breast Cancer Res 2005;7:R1028), carcinomas with squamous differentiation (87%, Int J Surg Pathol 2005;13:319)
ER negative tumors (Pathol Res Pract 1988;183:25, Breast Cancer Res 2008;10:R49)
Phyllodes tumors (all types-19%, malignant-75%, Lab Invest 2006;86:54)
Sarcoma NOS (5 of 7, Am J Surg Pathol 2006;30:450)
6% of breast carcinomas show moderate to low level EGFR amplification associated with protein overexpression, and may be responsive to anti-EGFR therapy (Mod Pathol 2005;18:1027), currently used for lung cancer patients
EGFR expression is more common in breast tumors in younger and black women
EGFR expression associated with lower hormone receptor levels, higher proliferation, genomic instability, HER2 overexpression, higher risk of relapse (Cancer 2010;116:1234), poor survival (J Clin Oncol 2007;25:4405)