Background: Overexpression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) has often been correlated with poor prognosis. Recent investigations have shown that the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib exhibits a high antiproliferative and apoptotic activity in HNSCC cell lines. The present study investigated whether bortezomib has an effect on EGFR expression in different squamous cell carcinoma cell lines.
Materials and methods: Six EGF-stimulated or non-stimulated squamous carcinoma cell lines were treated with bortezomib. Western blots were performed to determine EGFR expression. For statistical analysis, a Wilcoxon test for matched pairs (dependent samples) was performed using SPSS 13.0 software for Windows.
Results: Changes in EGFR expression after bortezomib treatment in EGF non-stimulated and EGF-stimulated squamous carcinoma cell lines failed to reach statistical significance in either experimental group (p > 0.05).
Conclusion: Given the high expression of EGFR in head and neck tumors, further investigations should address the question whether the apoptotic activity of bortezomib can be enhanced by adding an anti-EGFR antibody.