Effect of EGFR and p-AKT Overexpression on Chromosomal Instability in Gastric Cancer

Molecular profiling in gastric cancer (GC) is important for diagnosis and treatment. In this study, we investigated signal transduction pathways that might induce chromosomal instability in GC. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), and p-AKT expression were analyzed using immunohistochemistry, and chromosomal instability was assessed by DNA aneuploidy using laser scanning cytometry, in a total of 202 GC cases. The rate of EGFR expression and p-AKT expression was 70.3 and 34.2 %, respectively, in GC patients. In total, 57.5 % of GC patients exhibited DNA aneuploidy, and p-AKT positively correlated with EGFR and HER2 (p = 0.0127 and p = 0.00031, respectively). Patients with EGFR overexpressing GC showed shorter disease-specific survival than the other cases (hazard ratio 2.00, 95 % confidence interval 1.19-3.53; p = 0.0104). Moreover, EGFR and p-AKT expression was significantly correlated with DNA aneuploidy (p = 0.0002 and p = 0.0302, respectively). Our data showed that both EGFR and p-AKT overexpression were clearly associated with DNA aneuploidy. Aneuploidy could be a useful marker for therapies that target EGFR.