Prognostic Value of HER2 in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: A Single Institutional Experience

Abstract

Background: HER2 (Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) activation has been associated with poor prognosis in a number of tumours as breast, gastric and lung cancers, but the prognostic role of HER2 in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unclear.Objective: The aim of the current work was to detect the incidence and prognostic impact of HER2 overexpression in metastatic CRC patients in relation to clinico-pathologic features and outcome.Patients and Methods: Data of metastatic CRC patients treated from January 2012 to end of December 2016 in a tertiary referral university hospital were collected. Eligible patients had their paraffin block tested for HER2.Results: Clinico-pathologic features of 70 patients were available for analysis. Age ranged 20-73 years, at a median of 39.5 years. Fifty (71.4%) of these cases were left sided. Male to female ratio was 3:4. Mucinous variant was present in 27.1 %( 19 cases). Synchronous metastasis constituted 61.4%. HER2 incidence was found in 8.57% (6 cases). Her2 positivity was significantly associated with a shorter time to progression on both first line of therapy, PFS1 (mPFS1 3 vs. 6 months, p=0.045) and PFS2 (mPFS2 4 vs.6 months, p=0.036). No significant relation to clinico-pathological characteristics or OS were detected. Conclusion:HER2 positivity was not associated with clinico-pathologic features but was related to outcome with a shorter PFS but not OS in metastatic CRC. Further prospective data sets are required to confirm its prognostic role.

The Role of Beclin 1 and HER2 in Colorectal Carcinoma; An Immunohistochemical Study

“…The Role of Beclin 1 and HER2 in Colorectal Carcinoma; An Immunohistochemical Study chemotherapy resistance [4,6].…”

“…Autophagy, a cellular process involved in maintaining cellular homeostasis, has been implicated in both tumor promotion and suppression, depending on the context [ 4 ]. Autophagy appears to be notably enhanced in colorectal cancer, and it has been linked to poor prognosis and drug resistance [ 5 ], however, autophagy studies in colorectal cancer show conflicting results, particularly in terms of chemotherapy resistance [ 4 , 6 ].…”