Epidermal growth factor receptor as a novel therapeutic target in anaplastic thyroid carcinomas.

Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is one of the most aggressive human malignancies, with a median survival of up to 6 months. Such a bad prognosis under the present treatment procedures suggests the need for novel approaches in the management of this disease. Since some epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors are now in clinical trials and few data are available concerning EGFR expression in anaplastic thyroid carcinomas, we tried to estimate a possible overexpression of this receptor in a larger tumor series.