Abstract
BACKGROUND: Rb is an important tumor suppressor gene that regulates cell cycle progression. Rb dysfunction can lead to over proliferation of cells and lead to the occurrence of tumor. Loss or reduced Rb expression as well as over phosphorylation of Rb are important mechanisms of Rb dysfunction. The mutated epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene is an important driver gene in lung adenocarcinoma, and plays an important role in the development of lung cancer. The purpose of this study was to investigate the status of Rb in lung adenocarcinoma patients with EGFR mutations and define the clinicopathologic features. METHODS: 23 cases pulmonary adenocarcinoma patients with EGFR mutations were collected. The status of Rb and pRb-780, pRb-795 were determined byimmunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Loss or reduced Rb expression were detected in 16 of 23 samples (69.6%). pRb-780 and pRb-795 over-expressed were identified in 17 (73.9%) and 16 (69.6%) of 23 samples respectively. All the 23 patients had showed loss/reduced Rb expression or over-expressed Rb phosphorylation. Further analysis showed that over expression of pRb-780 and pRb-795 occurred more frequently in advanced patients. CONCLUSIONS: Aberrant expressionof Rb is frequently occurred in lung adenocarcinoma patients with EGFR mutations and may be an important pathogenesis in patients with lung adenocarcinoma.
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