The correlation of c-erbB-2 oncoprotein and established prognostic factorsin human breast cancer

Background. The c-erbB-2 (HER2/neu) receptor is a transmembrane phosphoglyc oprotein associated with multiple signal transduction pathways. Its overexp ression in breast cancer tissue has been correlated with poor prognosis. We report preliminary data of an ongoing study in invasive breast cancel pati ents exploring c-erbB-2 protein overexpression in relation to established t umor characteristics of prognostic value. Materials and Methods. In primary breast carcinoma samples from 115 women undergoing surgery in our departme nt in 1999, a polyclonal rabbit antibody to human c-erbB-2 oncoprotein was used for immunohistochemical assessment of the c-erbB-2 expression in forma lin-fixed paraffin-embedded material. The data were statistically correlate d with classical histopathological parameters. Results. In the studied coll ective of mainly postmenopausal women (75%) with a high rate of early stage breast cancer (88% pT1+2), there was no significant relation between c-erb B-2 overexpression, classified as positive in 42% of the samples, and lymph node involvement, tumor size and grade, ol hormone receptor status. Conclu sion. Using the presented highly sensitive method no association between c- erbB-2 expression and established prognostic factors was found. These data are in line with reports that the value of HER2/neu determination is not fu lly clarified for the preadjuvant evaluation of newly diagnosed breast canc er patients.