Publication

Abstract : Background: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a disease with poorest outcome among all central nervous system malignancies. Alteration in epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR) is reported in GBM and may be a prognostic and predictive marker of overall disease outcome. Objective: We aimed to analyze the frequency of alteration of EGFR exon 18-21 in patients with GBM and their outcomes after standard treatment. Methods: Since there are no study from southern part of India this was conceived as a pilot, retrospective study in a single tertiary cancer center in South India. Results: Forty patients with GBM who had their entire treatment done at this centre were identified and their primary tumor tissue blocks were retrieved. Genomic DNA was extracted and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for high resolution melting (HRM) analysis were performed and analyzed. The results of mutational analysis were correlated with treatment outcome of the patient. Our study found a significant difference in the overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) between patients with presence or absence of EGFR exon-19 overexpression. Conclusion: This study found EGFR exon-19 overexpression to be an independent negative predictor of OS and PFS in GBM patients treated with present standard of care.