The Wilms' tumor suppressor WT1 regulates expression of members of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and estrogen receptor in acquired tamoxifen resistance.
Overexpression of the EGFR gene in many Wilms tumor cases warrants further study to determine the therapeutic benefit of EGFR inhibitors in combination with other therapies in Wilms tumor patients.
Generally, TGF-alpha, EGF-R, and c-erb B-2 were expressed in tissue of the normal kidney and at variable levels in the three cell types of Wilms tumor, i.e., blastemal, epithelial, and stromal cells.
In contrast, expression of the EGFR-related protooncogene HER-2 (erbB-2) was found to be decreased in 11 RCCs and one Wilms' tumor; HER-2 gene structure, however, appeared normal in all specimens.