Immunohistochemical expression of HER-2/neu receptors in gastric carcinoma

Abstract

Background/aim Gastric carcinoma is the fourth most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second most common cause of cancer-related death. It is associated with patient morbidity and mortality worldwide. Adenocarcinomas represent 90% of gastric carcinoma cases and are classified into intestinal and diffuse types. Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2)/neu overexpression is a predictor of poor prognosis. This study aimed to evaluate HER-2/neu expression in gastric carcinomas and to correlate its expression with clinicopathological parameters and other prognostic factors. Patients and methods Forty-five cases of primary gastric carcinoma were included in this study. Thirty-two cases were of intestinal type and 13 cases were of the diffuse type. All specimens were formalin fixed, routinely processed, stained with hematoxylin and eosin, and immunohistochemically stained with HER-2/neu. Results Overexpression of HER-2/neu was detected in five out of 30 (11.1%) gastric carcinomas. There was a nonsignificant difference (P>0.05) in different histologic types. Also HER-2/neu expression showed a nonsignificant correlation with both histologic grade and tumor stage. Conclusion Our results revealed a limited effect of HER-2/neu on the biologic behavior of gastric carcinoma. However, further study with a larger sample size is recommended to clarify the therapeutic role of trastuzumab (Herceptin) in gastric carcinoma patients expressing HER-2/neu.