Her-2neu Expression In Endometrial Carcinoma Patients- A Preliminary Study from Western India

A Preliminary Study from Western India

Abstract

Background: - Her-2neu is a gene from the epidermal growth factor receptor family. It is known to regulate cell growth. Her-2neu overexpression or amplification is more common in type2 endometrial cancer than in type1. Overexpression of Her-2neu has been associated with poor prognosis. This study aims to evaluate Her-2neu expression in endometrial carcinoma patients. Method: - 50 endometrial carcinoma patients were enrolled in the study. Her-2neu expression was studied by immunohistochemistry method on formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissue and correlated with clinical and pathological parameters as well as disease status. Result: - Her-2neu positivity was observed in 10% (5/50) of cases. Her-2neu expression was more frequent in postmenopausal women (10%). Her-2neu expression was more common in patientslymphovascular invasion (18%) and lymph node positivity (20%). A higher frequency of Her-2neu expression was seen in ER negative (22%), p53 mutant type (17%), WT1 positive (25%) and Vimentin positive (12%) tumors. In relation to disease free survival, Her-2neu positive tumors had a higher rate of relapse. Conclusion: - In the present study, higher expression of Her-2neu was observed in patients with lymphovascular invasion, lymph node positivity, ER negative, p53 mutant tumors, WT1 positive, Vimentin positive patients and those with reduce DFS (Disease Free Survival). The above findings suggest that Her-2neu to be associated with disease spread, its aggressiveness, proliferation in hormone-independent manner, its role in EMT (Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition) process and negative prognostic implications.