Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) status and prognosis in gallbladder cancer.

e14657 Background: Studies from USA, Asia and Australia showed EGFR over-expression in gallbladder cancer (GC), and recent case reports suggest a role for EGFR targeted therapies in this disease. Methods: We studied the prognostic role of EGFR expression and its association with clinicopathologic features in forty-two GC patients surgically treated at our center, from 1995 to 2006. None received targeted cancer therapeutics. Tissue microarray blocks containing neoplastic tissue and tumor-adjacent non-neoplastic biliary epithelia were obtained and assessed for immunohistochemical (IH) expression of EGFR, cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX2), E-cadherin and p53 protein. Nonparametric correlations were assessed by Spearman’s rho; survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression; and p-values were computed for two-tailed tests. Results: EGFR IH scores 0, +1, +2, and +3 were observed in 48.7%, 23.1%, 17.9%, and 10.3%, respectively. They were correlated with p53 staining (rho=0.48; p=0.002);...