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Almeida et al. J Cancer Metastasis Treat 2021;7:57 Journal of Cancer
DOI: 10.20517/2394-4722.2021.108
Metastasis and Treatment

Review Open Access

Is the EGFR pathway relevant for the pathogenesis
but not for treatment of acute myeloid leukemia?

1
Luciana Yamamoto de Almeida , Eduardo Magalhães Rego 1,2
1
Center for Cell-based Therapy, University of Sao Paulo, Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo CEP 14051-140, Brazil.
2
Hematology Division, LIM31, Faculdade de Medicina, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo CEP 05403-000, Brazil.
Correspondence to: Prof. Eduardo Magalhães Rego, Hematology Division, LIM31, Faculdade de Medicina, University of Sao
Paulo, Av Dr Eneas Carvalho de Aguiar 155, 1st Floor, Hemocentro, Sao Paulo CEP 05403-000, Brazil.
E-mail: eduardo.rego@fm.usp.br

How to cite this article: Almeida LYd, Rego EM. Is the EGFR pathway relevant for the pathogenesis but not for treatment of acute
myeloid leukemia? J Cancer Metastasis Treat 2021;7:57. https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2394-4722.2021.108

Received: 4 May 2021 First Decision: 25 May 2021 Revised: 11 Jun 2021 Accepted: 22 Jun 2021 Published: 22 Oct 2021

Academic Editors: Domenico Ribatti, Lucio Miele Copy Editor: Yue-Yue Zhang Production Editor: Yue-Yue Zhang

Abstract
Despite intense research and the development of several new chemotherapeutics, the prognosis for specific
subsets of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has not improved significantly. Thus, the investigation of signaling
pathways associated with the pathogenesis and progression of AML has become a source for the discovery of
more effective treatments. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) belongs to the HER family of tyrosine
kinase (TK) receptors and is involved in the progression of a variety of solid tumors. Although the expression of
members of the HER family appears to be limited to epithelial tissues and derived neoplasms, there is evidence
demonstrating their role in hematopoiesis and hematological neoplasms. In AML, preclinical studies and two
anecdotal cases of response to EGFR TK inhibitors (TKI) supported the EGFR signaling pathway as a potential
therapeutic target. Indeed, the presence of EGFR ligands in the bone marrow microenvironment has been shown to
play pathological and regenerative/protective roles in AML. However, data reporting the expression of EGFR in
AML remain controversial and the EGFR pathway inhibition in AML patients has demonstrated limited clinical
significance. Further studies are required to determine the relevance of the EGFR pathway in AML biology and
which patients may benefit from using EGFR TKI or other drugs that target TK receptors.
Keywords: Acute myeloid leukemia, epidermal growth factor receptor, EGFR ligands, EGFR tyrosine kinase
inhibitors, gefitinib, erlotinib

© The Author(s) 2021. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, sharing,
adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, for any purpose, even commercially, as
long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and
indicate if changes were made.

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