PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Moscatello, David K.
AU  - Holgado-Madruga, Marina
AU  - Godwin, Andrew K.
AU  - Ramirez, Gloria
AU  - Gunn, George
AU  - Zoltick, Philip W.
AU  - Biegel, Jaclyn A.
AU  - Hayes, Roberta L.
AU  - Wong, Albert J.
TI  - Frequent Expression of a Mutant Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor in Multiple Human Tumors
DP  - 1995 Dec 01
TA  - Cancer Research
PG  - 5536--5539
VI  - 55
IP  - 23
4099  - http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/55/23/5536.short
4100  - http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/55/23/5536.full
SO  - Cancer Res1995 Dec 01; 55
AB  - The epidermal growth factor receptor has received much interest as a target for various antineoplastic agents, but a complication is that many normal tissues also express this receptor. We have previously identified in human glial tumors an 801-bp in-frame deletion within the epidermal growth factor receptor gene that created a novel epitope at the junction. By using Western blot assays with a mutant-specific antibody as a rapid and sensitive means for detecting this alteration in primary human tumors, it was found that 57% (26 of 46) of high-grade and 86% (6 of 7) of low-grade glial tumors, but not normal brain, express this protein. This altered receptor was also present in 66% (4 of 6) of pediatric gliomas and 86% (6 of 7) of medulloblastomas, 78% (21 of 27) of breast carcinomas, and 73% (24 of 32) of ovarian carcinomas. The fact that this receptor is frequently found in tumors but not in normal tissue makes it an attractive candidate for various antitumor strategies. ©1995 American Association for Cancer Research.