Cancer Research paper shows that variants associated with overexpression of EGFR are linked to high survival in women and low survival in men.
University of Southern California (USC) researchers found evidence that some gene mutations has the opposite effect on men and women in the development and survival of metastatic colon cancer.
Previously, germline variations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene has been linked with colon cancer. Specifically, mutations that induce overexpression of EGFR tend to be associated with poor prognosis and faster growth.
Researchers analyzed 318 patients—177 men and 141 women—with metastatic colon cancer exposed to similar chemotherapy treatments. When genomic DNA samples were analyzed, researchers found that women who had specific gene variants linked to high expression of EGFR had higher overall survival rates, while men with the same variants had lower survival.
“This is the first report to show that the prognostic value of EGFR depends on gender,” according to Heinz-Josef Lenz, M.D., professor of medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at USC and the principal investigator on the study. “This may suggest that in the future molecular markers should be evaluated differently in women and men and that treatment decisions may depend on gender and not only on molecular or clinical findings.”
The study is published in the April 15 issue of Cancer Research.
