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SSTR2 positively associates with EGFR and predicts poor prognosis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma
  1. Yue Xu1,
  2. Zihan Quan1,
  3. Yuting Zhan1,
  4. Haihua Wang1,
  5. Jiadi Luo1,
  6. Weiyuan Wang2,
  7. Songqing Fan1
  1. 1 Pathology, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China
  2. 2 Pathology, Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China
  1. Correspondence to Professor Songqing Fan; songqingfan{at}csu.edu.cn

Abstract

Aims Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) belongs to the receptor tyrosine kinases family and overexpression of EGFR has been linked to poor prognosis and cancer progression. Somatostatin receptor 2 (SSTR2) is a G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) with diverse biological functions in humans, and it is upregulated through the NF-KB signalling pathway in nasopharyngeal carcinomas (NPC). However, no studies have examined the EGFR and SSTR2 in NPC. This study aimed to investigate whether SSTR2 is associated with EGFR and clinicopathological features in NPC.

Methods Bioinformatics analysis was performed to assess the correlation between EGFR and SSTR2 based on the GEO database. The expression of SSTR2 and EGFR was evaluated by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in 491 cases of NPC and 50 cases of non-cancerous nasopharyngeal epithelium.

Results The bioinformatics analysis and IHC showed a positive correlation between SSTR2 and EGFR in NPC. High expression of SSTR2 and EGFR was significantly increased in NPC patients compared with non-cancerous nasopharyngeal epithelium. High expression of SSTR2 and/or EGFR was associated with a worse outcome and a higher risk of progression. The study found that patients receiving chemoradiotherapy (CR) with high expression of SSTR2, high expression of EGFR, and high coexpression of SSTR2 and EGFR had a poorer prognosis in both progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Interestingly, NPC patients with high expression of SSTR2, high expression of EGFR, high coexpression of EGFR and SSTR2, and EGFR/SSTR2 anyone high expression had a better prognosis with CR combined with targeted therapy. Cox multivariate analysis identified SSTR2 and EGFR as independent poor predictors of PFS.

Conclusion Our study is the first to shed light on the intricate relationship between SSTR2 and EGFR in NPC and provides new insights into the potential benefits of EGFR targeted therapy for patients with high SSTR2 expression. Additionally, SSTR2 has potential as a new biomarker for poor prognosis in NPC patients.

  • biomarkers, tumor
  • immunohistochemistry
  • head and neck neoplasms
  • proteins

Data availability statement

No data are available.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

https://doi.org/10.1136/jcp-2023-208987

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    Data availability statement

    No data are available.

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    Footnotes

    • Handling editor Munita Bal.

    • Contributors YX and SF conceived the research. YX wrote the main manuscript text and JL prepared figures. ZQ, YZ and HW collected the literature. SF and WW made significant revisions to the manuscript. All authors reviewed the manuscript. SF is responsible for the overall content as guarantor.

    • Funding The work included data collection, sample processing and data analysis, was funded by the National Natural Sciences Foundations of China (No. 81972838; 82272722; 82200019; 82102805), and the independent exploration and innovation project of central south university (2023ZZTS0843).

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.