Strong epidermal growth factor receptor expression but not HER2/neu expression correlates with cell proliferation in anal canal carcinomas

Twenty-eight anal carcinomas were analyzed for their proliferative status a nd immunoreactivity to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), HER2/neu, a nd proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). EGFR was expressed in 97.3% o f tumors. Strong EGFR immunoreactivity correlated with a high proliferative rate (p=0.014). No obvious relationship existed between HER2/neu immunorea ctivity and proliferative rate. The strong correlation between strong EGFR immunoreactivity and tumor proliferation suggests that the EGFR may represe nt a therapeutic target in anal cancers.