Effect of EGFR and p-AKT Overexpression on Chromosomal Instability in Gastric Cancer

Background: Molecular profiling in gastric cancer (GC) is important for diagnosis and treatment. In this study, we investigated signal transduction pathways that might induce chromosomal instability in GC. Methods: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), and p-AKT expression were analyzed using immunohistochemistry, and chromosomal instability was assessed by DNA aneuploidy using laser scanning cytometry, in a total of 202 GC cases. Results: The rate of EGFR expression and p-AKT expression was 70.3 and 34.2 %, respectively, in GC patients. In total, 57.5 % of GC patients exhibited DNA aneuploidy, and p-AKT positively correlated with EGFR and HER2 (p = 0.0127 and p = 0.00031, respectively). Patients with EGFR overexpressing GC showed shorter disease-specific survival than the other cases (hazard ratio 2.00, 95 % confidence interval 1.19–3.53; p = 0.0104). Moreover, EGFR and p-AKT expression was significantly correlated with DNA aneuploidy (p = 0.0002 and p = 0.0302, respectively). Conclusions: Our data showed that both EGFR and p-AKT overexpression were clearly associated with DNA aneuploidy. Aneuploidy could be a useful marker for therapies that target EGFR.