EGFR and neoplasm: Neurotensin (NTS) and its receptor NTSR1, a neuroendocrine peptide, primarily regulate tumor initiation, proliferation, apoptosis, metastasis, and differentiation through three pathways: the IP3/Ca2+/PKC/MAPKs pathway, the MMPs/EGFR/MAPKs (PI3K/Akt) pathway, or the Rho-GTPases and non-receptor tyrosine kinase pathway (Kim et al., 2015; Feng et al., 2024).