G. Rasty et al., EXPRESSION OF HER-2 NEU ONCOGENE IN NORMAL, HYPERPLASTIC AND MALIGNANT ENDOMETRIUM/, Annals of clinical and laboratory science, 28(3), 1998, pp. 138-143
HER-2/neu oncogene is believed to be involved in tumorigenesis of seve
ral human malignancies. To assess the pattern of expression of this on
cogene in normal, hyperplastic, and neoplastic endometrium, immunocyto
chemistry was applied to paraffin embedded tissue sections obtained fr
om 146 patients with endometrial adenocarcinoma. A spectrum of hyperpl
astic changes ranging from simple hyperplasia to atypical hyperplasia
was seen in 15 percent (22/146) of cases. Expression for HER-2/neu onc
ogene was demonstrated as cell membrane staining. Normal, hyperplastic
and neoplastic epithelial cells showed a heterogeneous expression for
HER-2/neu oncogene. The intensity of the immunostaining and the numbe
r of cells stained for HER-2/neu oncogene had no significant associati
on with surgical stage or histologic grade, although the proportion of
patients demonstrating overexpression increased significantly as the
histologic grade of their turner increased (p = 0.030). Furthermore, i
n a multivariate analysis, a statistically significant correlation was
found between the level of expression of HER-2/neu oncogene and overa
ll survival (p = 0.025). This study demonstrated that HER-2/neu oncoge
ne expression is variably present in normal and hyperplastic endometri
um. Association between HER-2/neu oncogene expression, higher grade le
sions and poor survival in patients with endometrial cancer may also j
ustify assessment of HER-2/neu oncogene as a reliable prognostic indic
ator.