Expression of epidermal growth factor receptor in esophageal and esophagogastric junction adenocarcinomas

The prognosis for patients with esophageal and esophagogastric junction (EGJ) adenocarcinoma remains poor, even after surgical resection. Pathologic assessment of depth of invasion and lymph node status are the primary prognostic factors in these patients. In patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, increased epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression has been associated with a worse prognosis. It is not known whether EGFR plays a similar role in esophageal and EGJ adenocarcinomas.To address this issue, the authors studied tumor specimens from 103 patients with surgically resected esophageal and EGJ adenocarcinomas (9 patients with stage I disease, 23 patients with stage II disease, 57 patients with stage III disease, and 14 patients with stage IV disease). The expression of EGFR was assessed by immunohistochemical analysis of tissue microarrays. Tumors were considered positive for EGFR expression when >5% of tumor cells were stained and negative when