The expression and potential mechanism of EGFR and EZH2 in breast cancer

Xiaoqi Tang; Taosheng Zhou; Jiayue Shen; Ming Luo; Huiming Yuan; Denghua Pan; Fu Li

doi:10.21037/gs-21-505

The expression and potential mechanism of EGFR and EZH2 in breast cancer

Gland Surg. 2021 Aug;10(8):2535-2545. doi: 10.21037/gs-21-505.

Authors

Xiaoqi Tang¹, Taosheng Zhou¹, Jiayue Shen¹, Ming Luo¹, Huiming Yuan¹, Denghua Pan², Fu Li¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Gastrointestinal and Gland Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China.
² Department of Ultrasonography, Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China.

Abstract

Background: The purpose of our research was to investigate the expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and zeste gene enhancer homolog 2 (EZH2) in breast cancer, and to explore their potential common pathways.

Methods: Western blot and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were used to detect the protein and corresponding mRNA expression of EGFR and EZH2 in breast cancer tissues and benign tissues. Then, the relationship between EGFR and EZH2 along with the corresponding clinicopathological parameters were also analyzed. Bioinformatics tools were applied to explore the possible common pathways.

Results: The results showed that both EGFR and EZH2 protein and mRNA were highly expressed in breast cancer tissues, and there was a positive correlation between EGFR and EZH2. Moreover, we found that increased mRNA expression was correlated with lymph node metastasis and clinical stage (P<0.05). Furthermore, the enrichment results of co-expressed genes indicated that EGFR and EZH2 may work together in the FOXO signaling pathway, affecting the growth and metastasis of breast cancer cells.

Conclusions: The high expression of both EGFR and EZH2 mRNA in breast cancer was related to lymph node metastasis and clinical staging. The FOXO signaling pathway may be their common signaling pathway that affects tumor cell invasion and metastasis.

Keywords: Breast cancer; FOXO signaling pathway; epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR); infiltration and metastasis; zeste gene enhancer homolog 2 (EZH2).