EGFRvIII

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR; ErbB-1; HER1 in humans) is the cell-surface receptor for members of the epidermal growth factor family (EGF-family) of extracellular protein ligands. The epidermal growth factor receptor is a member of the ErbB family of receptors, a subfamily of four closely related receptor tyrosine kinases: EGFR (ErbB-1), HER2/c-neu (ErbB-2), Her 3 (ErbB-3) and Her 4 (ErbB-4). Mutations affecting EGFR expression or activity could result in cancer. The type III EGF deletion mutant receptor (EGFRvIII) is the most common mutation and was first identified in primary human glioblastoma tumors. This tumor-specific antigen is ligand-independent, contains a constitutively active tyrosine kinase domain, and has been shown to be present in a number of human malignancies. EGFRvIII has been selected as a target for CAR-modified T-cell studies in recent years.