Introduction: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations are known as oncogene driver mutations and with EGFR mutations exhibit good response to the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor Gefitinib. Some studies have shown that activation of estrogen and estrogen receptor α or β (ERα/β) promote adenocarcinoma. We evaluated the relationship between the two receptors and the potential therapeutic benefit with Gefitinib and Tamoxifen.
Methods: We assessed the association between EGFR mutations as well as ERα/β expression/location and overall survival in a cohort of 55 patients with LAC from a single hospital. PC9 (EGFR exon 19 deletion mutant; Gefitinib-vulnerable cells) and A549 (EGFR wild type; Gefitinib-resistant cells) cancer cells were used to evaluate the in vitro therapeutic benefits of combining Gefitinib and Tamoxifen.
Results: We found that the cytosolic but not the nuclear expression of ERβ was associated with better OS in LAC tumors but not associated with EGFR mutation. The in vitro study showed that combined Gefitinib and Tamoxifen resulted in increased apoptosis and cytosolic expression of ERβ. In addition, combining both medications resulted in reduced cell growth and increased the cytotoxic effect of Gefitinib.
Conclusion: Tamoxifen enhanced advanced LAC cytotoxic effect induced by Gefitinib by arresting ERβ in cytosol.