The role of epidermal growth factor receptors family in the prognosis of penile carcinoma patients

• Grant number: 12/09845-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: September 01, 2012
• End date: May 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Fernando Augusto Soares
• Grantee: Alice Muglia Thomaz da Silva Amancio
• Host Institution: Hospital A C Camargo. Fundação Antonio Prudente (FAP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Penile carcinoma (PC) is frequently found in developing countries such as Brazil. Patients presenting lymph nodes metastasis have limited and quite ineffective therapeutic options. Usual type squamous cell carcinoma is the most frequent PC, and studies have reported distinct outcomes for distinct variants. Verrucous carcinoma rarely present metastasis, whereas sarcomatoids and basaloids show aggressive growing behavior. Molecular aspects initiation and progression of these tumors are still unexplored, and literature shows no marker with a definitive and robust prognostic role. Epidermal growth factors receptors (EGFR) family, or HER family, present increased expression in diverse neoplasms, and it is, therefore, a target for novel therapies. EGFR gene is widely expressed in penile tumors, and a clinical benefit was reported for a PC patient using monoclonal antibody-based EGFR targeted therapy. In light of that, this projects aims at studying 188 PC cases in order to elucidate (1) coexpression profile and intracellular localization fo EGFR and the other members of the family? HER2, HER3, and HER4, once they act in dimers in cell membrane, using immunofluorescence or immunohistochemitry; (2) phosphorylation status of the four receptors by western blot; (3) gene copy number alterations of EGFR using fluorescence in vitro hybridization (FISH); and (4) the presence of mutations in the EGFR tyrosine-cinase domain codifying exons (18, 19, 20, and 21) through sequencing. Data will be correlated to clinical and pathological variables and patients survival, searching prognostic markers for these tumors. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

THOMAZ DA SILVA AMANCIO, ALICE MUGLIA; DA CUNHA, ISABELA WERNECK; NEVES, JOSE IVANILDO; QUETZ, JOSIANE DA SILVA; CARRARO, DIRCE MARIA; ROCHA, RAFAEL MALAGOLI; ZEQUI, STENIO CASSIO; CUBILLA, ANTONIO LEOPOLDO; DA FONSECA, FRANCISCO PAULO; LOPES, ADEMAR; et al. Epidermal growth factor receptor as an adverse survival predictor in squamous cell carcinoma of the penis. HUMAN PATHOLOGY, v. 61, p. 97-104, MAR 2017. (09/52088-3, 12/09845-0)