Clinicopathological and prognostic values of ErbB receptor family amplification in primary osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma is a malignant bone tumor with extremely high invasion, metastasis and mortality. The prognosis of patients with osteosarcoma remains poor. The ErbB receptor family was found to be overexpressed in human cancers and associated with poor prognosis. However, the role of ErbB receptor family in osteosarcoma has not been fully understood. The present study aimed to investigate the clinicopathological and prognostic significances of ErbB receptors in primary osteosarcoma. Western blot (WB), reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were used to detect the protein and gene expression of ErbB receptors in 60 primary osteosarcoma specimens and 30 non-neoplastic bone tissues. WB and RT-qPCR analyses showed that the protein and mRNA expression levels of EGFR, ErbB3 and ErbB4 in osteosarcoma specimens were significantly higher than those in non-neoplastic bone tissues. Seventeen (28.33%), 15 (25.00%) and 15 (25.00%) osteosarcoma specimens presented with amplification of EGFR, ErbB3 and ErbB4 gene, respectively, which were significantly higher compared with non-neoplastic bone tissues. The amplification of ErbB3 and ErbB4 in osteosarcoma was associated with advanced surgical stage. The amplification of EGFR, ErbB3, ErbB4 and the co-amplification of EGFR-ErbB3, EGFR-ErbB4, ErbB3-ErbB4 was linked with poor response to chemotherapy and distant metastasis. The amplification of EGFR, ErbB3 and ErbB4, as well as their co-amplification demonstrated independent prognostic values for reduced survival time of osteosarcoma patients and may serve as potential therapeutic targets for osteosarcoma patients in the future.