Epidermal growth factor receptor, nuclear proliferation antigen and interleukin-2 receptor expression in prostatic cancer.

Immunohistochemical methods have been used to study the relationship between epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R), T-lymphocyte infiltrate, interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R) expression and the degree of cellular proliferation using the monoclonal antibody Ki-67. EGF-R was detected in only 2 out of the 19 malignant biopsies, but was present in the benign elements of all twelve of the heterogeneous biopsies examined. The level of immune response, as indicated by the percentage of T cells expressing the IL-2R, did not correlate with the expression of the nuclear proliferation antigen determined by Ki-67 monoclonal antibody staining intensity. This study fails to show a statistically significant correlation between the expression of EGF-R or nuclear proliferation antigen and the degree of the cell mediated immune response to the tumour.