Epidermal growth factor receptor: Is a novel therapeutic target for pancreatic cancer?

Abstract

Expression of epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR) is exaggerated in pancreatic adenocarcinoma and activation of EGFR appears to have an important role in the growth and differentiation of this and in other tumors. Therefore, blockade or inactivation of EGFR by monoclonal antibodies or by tyrosine kinase inhibitors has significant potential as an effective anti-cancer therapy. One of the very recent significant developments in the field of molecular biology involves the use of antisense of EGFR or EGFR gene silencing in pancreatic cancer cells as a potential targeted therapy for patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma.