Investigation of expression of p16 and EGFRv III and its correlation with the effects of treatment with cetuximab in oral cancer

Abstract

Although cetuximab, as a molecular-targeted drug against epidermal growth factor receptors, is expected to have significant therapeutic efficiency in oral cancer patients, it is important to apply cetuximab therapy to suitable cases and to deal with adverse effects such as infusion reaction and interstitial pneumonia during cetuximab therapy. In this report, we examined the expression levels of p16 and EGFRv III in oral cancer patients to elucidate the association between the expression and the efficacy of cetuximab treatment. EGFRv III expression was detected in 50.0% of oral cancer patients and p16 in 14.3%. A significant relation was detected only between EGFRv III expression and the treatment efficacy with cetuximab.