Evaluation of Tissue Expression and Salivary Levels of HER۲/neu in Patients with Head and Neck Squamous cell Carcinoma

Introduction: HER۲/neu, a member of the epidermal growth factor receptor family, has been shown to be over-expressed in some tumors. The purpose of this study was to determine the salivary levels and tissue expression of HER۲/neu in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and their correlation with clinicopathologic parameters.   Materials and Methods: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were used to evaluate the salivary levels of HER۲/neu and immunohistochemistry was used to measure tissue expression of HER۲/neu in ۲۸ patients with HNSCC and ۲۵ healthy control subjects.   Results: The salivary levels of HER۲/neu in patients with HNSCC were not significantly higher compared to healthy control subjects. There was no apparent correlation between salivary HER۲/neu levels and clinicopathological features such as age, sex, tumor grade, tumor size and nodal status. All HNSCC specimens were positive (membranous or/and cytoplasmic) for HER۲/neu, except one sample. Only one HNSCC specimen showed staining purely in the tumor-cell cytoplasm. All control specimens were also positive for both membranous and cytoplasmic HER۲/neu but there was a significant difference between the level of cytoplasmic staining in the HNSCC specimens and in the control specimens (P<۰.۰۵).   Conclusion: In our study, no overexpression of HER۲/neu was observed. Thus, identification of HER۲/neu levels plays no role in differentiating between normal and squamous cell carcinoma tissues or detecting the carcinogenesis process. Our findings suggest that the use of HER۲/neu as a salivary marker of HNSCC is not recommended, because no significant preoperative elevation and no association with clinicopathological features were found. 

Keywords:

Carcinoma , HER۲/neu , salivary gland , Squamous cell of head and neck , Tissue expression