GSE146975 EGFR activity addiction facilitates anti-ERBB based combination treatment of squamous bladder cancer

Contributors : Michael Rose ; Bernd Denecke ; Nadine T GaisaSeries Type : Expression profiling by arrayOrganism :Recent findings suggested a benefit of anti-EGFR therapy for basal-like muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). However, impact on bladder cancer with substantial squamous differentiated (Sq-BLCA) and especially pure squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) remains unknown. Therefore, we comprehensively characterized pure and mixed Sq-BLCA (n=125) on genetic and protein expression level, and performed functional pathway and drug-response analyses with cell line models and isolated primary SCC (p-SCC) cells of the human urinary bladder. We identified abundant EGFR expression in 95% of Sq-BLCA without evidence for activating EGFR mutations. Both SCaBER and p-SCC cells were sensitive to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs: erlotinib and gefitinib). Combined treatment with anti-EGFR TKIs and varying chemotherapeutics led to a concentration-dependent synergism in SCC cells according to the Chou-Talalay method. In addition, siRNA knockdown of EGFR impaired SCaBER viability suggesting a putative ‘‘Achilles heel’’ of Sq-BLCA. The observed effects seem Sq-BLCA-specific since non-basal urothelial cancer cells were characterized by poor TKI sensitivity associated with a short-term feedback response by upregulating EGFR and ERBB3 expression. Hence, our findings give novel insights into a crucial, Sq-BLCA-specific role of the ERBB signaling pathway proposing improved effective...
Source: GEO: Gene Expression Omnibus - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Tags: Expression profiling by array Source Type: research