EXPRESSION ANALYSES OF EPIDERMAL GROWTH-FACTOR RECEPTOR AND HER-2 NEU- NO ADVANTAGE OF PREDICTION OF RECURRENCE OR SURVIVAL IN BREAST-CANCER PATIENTS/

The overexpression of two members of the erbB oncogene family - the ep idermal growth factor receptor protein (EGF-R) and the HER-2/neu prote in - in breast cancer has been investigated by numerous authors. Their exact role in breast cancer is still not defined. The simultaneous in vestigation of EGF-R and HER-2/neu in the same study population has on ly rarely been performed in breast cancer. Therefore, we analyzed the EGF-R and the HER-2/neu protein expression in 142 breast cancer specim ens and 12 benign breast samples by immunohistochemistry. Results of t he different expression analyses were compared with established clinic opathological parameters including estrogen and progesterone receptor status. In our study group ECF-R expression correlated with advanced t umor stage, axillary lymph node status and histological grade. HER-2/n eu expression correlated with larger tumor size. Neither the evaluatio n of a single parameter of the erbB family nor the combination of both parameters showed a significant correlation with the disease-free and the overall survival of the individual patient with breast cancer. On ly the expression of the progesterone receptor correlated with a bette r overall survival. Steroid hormone receptor expression and the expres sion of EGF-R and HER-2/neu seem to be two independent phenomena in ou r samples of breast cancer. The simultaneous evaluation of EGF-R and H ER-2/neu expression did not lead to new information of prognostic rele vance.