EGFR

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a transmembrane glycoprotein with tyrosine kinase activity that mainly exists in various epithelial cells. Its binding to ligands plays a positive regulatory role in cell survival, proliferation, differentiation, and migration. Some research found that EGFR is overexpressed in lung cancer, esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer and other tumors, which is mainly caused by deletion mutation of exon 19 or point mutation of exon 21 in EGFR gene. Moreover, the abnormal production of EGFR is closely related to the malignant development of tumors and poor prognosis of patients. It can enhance tumor growth and metastasis activity by activating multiple signaling pathways, including the MAPK/ERK pathway that promotes proliferation, the P13K/AKT pathway that regulates metabolism, and the JAK/STAT pathway that mediates inflammation. In addition, EGFR may participate in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and interact with the microenvironment to stimulate tumor angiogenesis and immune escape.