Gastric adenocarcinoma expressing human epidermal growth factor receptor in South Asian population

Abstract

Background/Aim:Gastric cancer is the third leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. Human epidermal growth factor (Her-2/neu) has shown strong therapeutic implication in breast cancer. Although the prevalence of Her-2/neu over-expression in gastric cancer has been reported across the world, it is still unknown from South Asia. The aim of this study is to evaluate Her-2/neu expression in gastric adenocarcinomas and to correlate with various clinicopathological variables.Patients and Methods:A total of 95 consecutive patients undergoing endoscopic biopsy or gastrectomy were recruited in this study. Clinicopathological parameters of all patients were recorded and hematoxylin and eosin (H and E) staining was performed. Over-expression of Her-2/neu was investigated by immunohistochemistry using α-Her-2 antibody. To quantify Her-2/neu over-expression, the Hofmann validation scoring system was used and further its association was seen with age, gender, histopathological type, grade, and stage of the tumor. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 21. A P value of <0.05 was considered as significant.Results:Overall, 21 (22.1%) cases were positive for Her-2/neu overexpression from the total of 95 gastric adenocarcinomas. Her-2/neu was significantly expressed in low-grade gastric cancer (grade I = 50%, grade II = 34.5%, grade III = 14.5%; P = 0.030). Although there was insignificant difference between Her-2/neu over expression and other variables, Her-2/neu score 3+ was predominantly seen in females, age >60 years, Laurens intestinal type, and IIIC stage tumors.Conclusion:Her-2/neu is over-expressed in a limited group of gastric cancer patients in our population and indicates a significant strong association with low grades of gastric cancer.

A study of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 overexpression by immunohistochemistry in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma

“…There was also no statistically significant relation between HER2 overexpression and age group. This observation is consistent with most of the studies published recently ( 15 , 16 , 18 ). This suggests that age plays a minor role, if at all, as an independent factor for initiating Trastuzumab therapy in gastric cancer patients.…”

“…A statistically significant correlation of HER2 overexpression was observed with moderately differentiated cancers. Such a correlation has been described previously as well ( 15 , 16 ). However, there are studies which have reported no such association between grade of differentiation and HER2 overexpression ( 17 , 18 ).…”

“…An interesting finding from our study is that HER2 overexpression was seen more often in females, in a statistically non-significant manner. In contrast, most of the previously published studies report that more males than females have HER2 overexpression ( 15 , 16 , 18 ). Further studies with larger sample sizes are required to explore whether there is a gender variation to HER2 overexpression in this geographical area.…”

<p>Contrast-Enhanced CT Parameters of Gastric Adenocarcinoma: Can Radiomic Features Be Surrogate Biomarkers for HER2 Over-Expression Status?</p>

“…2,3 The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is a proto-oncogene located on chromosome 17q21, and it is a potential therapeutic target for advanced HER2-positive GC. 4,5 In 6-35% of all GC patients, gastric lesions have been reported to over-express HER2. [6][7][8][9][10] The status of HER2 expression in gastric lesions is currently evaluated by immunohistochemistry (IHC), silver in situ hybridization (SISH), and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH).…”

“…5,11,12 It was found to be correlated with tumor grade and location on the intestine, but not with gender, age, tumor location or (tumor node metastasis) TNM stage, depth of invasion, lymph node metastases, and distant metastasis. 4,13 At present, gastroscopic biopsy is the main routine detection method to gain information about the histopathological characteristics of lesions before surgery. However, gastroscopic histopathological findings are influenced by many factors, including site and depth of the specimens and evaluation of the pathologist.…”