HER-۲/neu Gene Overexpression in Resectable Gastric Cancer and its Relationship with Histopathologic Subtype, Grade, and Stage

Objective HER-۲/neu gene is overexpressed in diverse human cancers and studies suggest a role of its product – p۱۸۵ protein – in tumor progression by specifically promoting the invasive capacity of tumor cells. Our aim was to evaluate HER-۲/neu content in resectable gastric cancer in this geographical region and assess the relationship between p۱۸۵ expression and clinicopathologic tumor parameters. Materials and Methods This was a retrospective analysis of ۱۰۰ specimens from ۱۰۰ patients with resectable gastric carcinoma. Indirect immunostaining was used to evaluate the expression of this receptor in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue samples. Results HER-۲/neu overexpression was present in ۲۶ (۲۶%) of ۱۰۰ gastric carcinomas. This was significantly more common in the intestinal type of gastric cancer (۳۳%) compared to diffuse (۵%) or the mixed type (۰%). HER-۲/neu overexpression was also more common in well-differentiated gastric cancer versus other grades as. However, it was not associated with gender, age at diagnosis or clinical stage. Conclusion HER-۲/neu amplification is common in the intestinal and well-differentiated gastric carcinomas. There is no correlation between HER-۲/neu expression and tumor stage. The relatively high percentage of HER-۲/neu positive tumors may provide a useful target for immunotherapy of these cancers.

Keywords:

Gastric cancer , Her-۲/neu , Grade , Lauren's classification Immunohistochemistry