Background and aims: Esophageal cancer is the eighth most common cancer and the sixth leading cause of cancer death worldwide. In Iran, esophageal cancer is the second and third most common cancer in the men and women, respectively. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a receptor of tyrosine kinase from the ErbB family, with its disorder in the pathophysiology of many epithelial malignancies, including esophageal cancer, and is the important agent in prognosis and clinical progression of the disease. In this research project, the EGFR expression was investigated in Iranian patients with esophageal cancer using the qRT-PCR.
Methods: This research was a cohort historical study. Thirty paraffin-embedded tissue samples of normal esophageal and cancer tissues were analyzed to measure the EGFR expression. PCR reactions for EGFR and β-actin were carried out by Livac method. All data were analyzed by SPSS software.
Results: The results showed a significant difference between the EGFR expression in patients compared to control group (P<0.05). The EGFR overexpression in patients was 4.25 times higher compared to healthy group.
Conclusion: EGFR increased in the patients compared to the control group, which may be used as a potential biomarker for esophageal cancer in the Iranian population.