Immunohistochemical Study of HER-2/NEU Expression in Urothelial Bladder Carcinoma and its Correlation with Histopathological Grade

Abstract

Background: Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) overexpression and amplification have been considered as a therapeutic and prognostic target in a quantity of tumors although conflicting data exist about the incidence and clinical consequence of HER2/neu status in the patients. The growth risk of bladder cancer is age dependent. In general, adolescent and young adults tend to develop well differentiated non-invasive, rather than invasive bladder cancer. Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess the Immunohistochemical study of HER-2/NEU Expression in urothelial bladder carcinoma and its correction with histopathological Grade. Methods: This was a cross sectional study. Patients with paraffin blocks of urinary bladder tissue which were histologically diagnosed as urothelial carcinoma at the Department of Pathology, BIRDEM and other private laboratories were included in our study during the period of January 2016 to December 2018. Results: This study shows that, a total of 56 histologically diagnosed cases of urothelial carcinoma were included. There were 34 cases (60.7%) of high grade and 22 cases (39.3%) of low-grade urothelial carcinomas. The age of the patient ranged from 23 years to 98 years (mean 66.34±15.3 years). Majority of patients (50.98 %) belonged to 61 to 80 years age group. High grade tumors were predominantly seen at an older age. There were 42 males (75.0%) and 14 females (25.0 %) with a male to female ratio of 3:1. Conclusions: Significant correlation in expression of HER-2/Neu was found with grading of urothelial carcinoma. A positive HER-2 status is associated with aggressive urothelial carcinoma and provides independent prognostic information for urothelial carcinoma recurrence and mortality.