Elevated levels of transforming growth factor alpha and epidermal growth factor receptor messenger RNA are early markers of carcinogenesis in head and neck cancer.

The squamous mucosa of patients who develop head and neck cancer is "condemned" or predisposed to disregulated growth as reflected by the high incidence of synchronous and metachronous primary tumors. We hypothesized that transformed and nontransformed mucosa from head and neck cancer patients would produce increased levels of transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-alpha) and its cell surface receptor, the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR),...