Expression of the Epidermal Growth Factor and Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha in Lung Cancer

Jang, Deok Kee; Lee, Chung Seok; Park, Sung Dal; Kim, Song Myung

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Release of Epidermal Growth Factor(EGF) af fects the growth of the lung cancer in various ways and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), which is known as acute immune reactants and now used in lung cancer t reatment, supress carcinogenesis of the lung. In this study, expression rates of EGF and TNF-alpha in the lung cancer tissue and the serum of lung cancer patients were measured. MATERIAL AND METHOD: In twenty cases of lung cancer and four cases of benign tumor or granuloma, all patient's peripheral blood was sampled pre, and postopertively, and tumor tissues and tumo r free lung tissues were obtained from resected surgical specimens in all patien ts. Then, all blood samples and tissues were frozen and kept safely in the liqui d nitrogen tank. Human EGF kit(Amersham pharmacia biotech, England) and TNF-alpha I RMA kit (Biosouce, Belgium) were used in quantitation of EGF and TNF-alpha respecti vely. RESULT: 1. Both EGF and TNF-alpha were expressed in all tissues and control tissue, benign tumor or granuloma tis sue, cancer tissue and pre- and postoperatively sampled serum. 2. The amount of EGF and TNF-alpha were significantly higher in cancer tissue than in control and be nign tumor tissues. 3. The expression of TNF-alpha was more potent in adenocarcinom a tissue. 4. The expressed amounts of serum EGF and TNF-alpha were 5.7 times and 1. 3 times higher than in tissue respectively. 5. The expression rates of TNF-alpha in cancer tissue was different according to histologic types of cancer but not dif ferent for EGF. 6. As TNM stages go up the amount of EGF in cancer tissue increa sed but TNF-alpha ecreased. 7. The amount of EGF in serum was increased at immediat e postoprative period but TNF-alpha was decreased.
CONCLUSION
The presence of di fference in the expressed amount of EGF and TNF-alpha between cancer tissue and con trol tissue was proven, also the difference was found between tissue and serum r epresenting the concentration of EGF and TNF-alpha which were higher in serum than in tissues. EGF and TNF-alpha are released in all of normal tissue, benign tumor ti ssue and lung cancer tissue and their expression rates were variable according t o cell function. Further research is needed to for the expression of EGF and TN F-alpha in various kinds of cells.