C-erbB receptors in squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck: clinical significance and correlation with matrix metalloproteinases and vascular endothelial growth factors.

We studied the profile of four c-erbB receptors in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) and to determine whether their expression was associated with clinicopathological features and key molecules involved in angiogenesis and metastasis. We also assessed the impact of expression on survival. This study included 54 cases of primary HNSCC, of which 27 cases showed lymph node metastasis. The expression of c-erbB receptors, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family members was analysed in the same tissue homogenates by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. HNSCC frequently co-expressed multiple c-erbB receptors and showed significant correlations amongst their levels. High expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), c-erbB-2 or c-erbB-3 was associated with an infiltrating mode of invasion, nodal metastases and advanced pathological stages. EGFR and c-erbB-2 levels were strongly correlated (P=0.0004-0.029) with the expression of MMP-2, MMP-7, MMP-9, MMP-10, MMP-11, MMP-13, VEGF-A and VEGF-C whereas the levels of c-erbB-3 and B-4 showed a weaker correlation (P=0.049-0.01) with some MMPs and VEGF-C. Only nodal metastasis and EGFR levels were significantly associated with poor outcome in uni- and multi-variate analysis. We conclude that co-operative signalling of all four c-erbB receptors may play a significant role in the pathogenesis of HNSCC. Amongst these, EGFR appears to be the dominant component controlling the invasive and angio-/lymphangiogenic phenotype in HNSCC via upregulation of multiple MMPs and VEGFs.