Clinical significance of HER-2 protien overexpression and HER-2 gene dysregulation in non-small cell lung cancer

Abstract

Objective To investigate the dysregulation of HER-2 protein and gene in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and to identify the association between clinicopathological features,prognosis and HER-2 aberrations amongst protein and gene. Methods 140 NSCLC tissues (89 squamous cell carcinoma, 51 adenocarcinoma) with operative section and detailed case were taken from pathology department of Shanxi Cancer Hospital from Jan 2006 to Feb 2007, while 70 normal tissues were set as control group. Immunohistochemistry was applied to detect the state of HER-2 protein expression,and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was applied to test the status of gene amplification. Results In normal and NSCLC tissues, over-expression of HER-2 was detected in 0 case and 17 (12.14 %) cases (P 0.05). There was no significantly difference in survival between patients with and without HER-2 protein over-expression and HER-2 gene dysregulation (P > 0.05). HER-2 protein over-expression was associated with HER-2 gene amplification (P> 0.05), while no relationship between HER-2 protein overexpression and HER-2 gene multicopy (P < 0.01). Conclusions The over-expression of HER-2 is related to pathological type of NSCLC with more frequent expression in adenocarcinoma. The incidence rate of HER-2 gene amplification in patients with adenocarcinoma histology, never-smokers, and young age is high. The HER-2 protein over-expression and gene dysregulation show no relation with the prognosis of NSCLC. Key words: Carcinoma, non-small-cells lung; Receptor, epidermal growth factor; Immunohistochemistry; Fluorescence in situ hybridization; Prognosis