Histomorphological Evaluation of Gastrointestinal Malignancy Diagnosed by Endoscopy with Special Reference to Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor by Immunohistochemistry

Abstract

 The digestive tract is a major site of cancer in humans; however, there are great differences in incidence among the component sites from the oesophagus to the anus. Furthermore, a number of the histologic types of tumors at these sites differ in their incidence and prognosis. Biopsy samples of 55 patients with suspicious symptoms were taken from June 2012 to June 2014.They were subject to histopathological evaluation. Immunohistochemical evaluation was done to demonstrate EGFR positivity. A total of fifty two cases were viable for interpretation. Of the 52 cases, 19 were diagnosed as malignancies, 18 of which were adenocarcinomas and one was malignant gastrointestinal stromal tumor. (GIST). Of the 18 adenocarcinoma cases, eight were gastric, ten were colorectal. Majority of the patients with malignancy were between 61-70 years. EGFR was overexpressed in 25% of gastric adenocarcinomas and 30% of colorectal adenocarcinomas. Majority of the tumors showed moderate positivity with some showing strong membrane positivity as well. Finally, it is important to stress that failure to detect a prognostic significance for EGFR in any one cancer type does not necessarily preclude patients from benefiting from anti-EGFR therapies