| Summary: | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Previous studies have revealed altered expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-family members and their endogenous inhibitor leucine-rich and immunoglobulin-like domains 1 (LRIG1) in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). In this study, we analyzed the gene expression levels of EGFR-family members and LRIG1, and their possible associations with clinical parameters in various types of RCC.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Gene expression levels of EGFR–family members and LRIG1 were analyzed in 104 RCC samples, including 81 clear cell RCC (ccRCC), 15 papillary RCC (pRCC), and 7 chromophobe RCC (chRCC) by quantitative real-time RT-PCR. Associations between gene expression levels and clinical data, including tumor grade, stage, and patient survival were statistically assessed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compared to kidney cortex, <it>EGFR</it> was up-regulated in ccRCC and pRCC, <it>LRIG1</it> and <it>ERBB2</it> were down-regulated in ccRCC, and <it>ERBB4</it> was strongly down-regulated in all RCC types. <it>ERBB3</it> expression did not differ between RCC types or between RCC and the kidney cortex. The expression of the analyzed genes did not correlate with patient outcome.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study revealed that the previously described up-regulation of <it>EGFR</it> and down-regulation of <it>ERBB4</it> occurred in all analyzed RCC types, whereas down-regulation of <it>ERBB2</it> and <it>LRIG1</it> was only present in ccRCC. These observations illustrate the need to evaluate the different RCC types individually when analyzing molecules of interest and potential biological markers.</p>
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