Immunohistochemical Expression of c-erbB2, c-erbB3 and c-erbB4 Protein in Breast Cancer.
10.4048/jkbcs.1998.1.2.215
- Author:
Kyong Sik LEE
1
;
Ja Yun KOO
;
Hyun Cheol CHUNG
;
Chang Ok SUH
;
Hy De LEE
;
Byung Chan LEE
;
Woo Hee JUNG
;
Woo Ick YANG
Author Information
1. Department General Surgery, Yonsei University, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
c-erbB2;
c-erbB3;
c-erbB4;
Breast Cancer
- MeSH:
Animals;
Breast Neoplasms*;
Breast*;
Female;
Humans;
Immunohistochemistry;
Life Tables;
Lymph Nodes;
Mice;
Phenotype;
Prognosis;
Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor;
Receptors, Estrogen;
Receptors, Progesterone
- From:Journal of Korean Breast Cancer Society
1998;1(2):215-225
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
Breast cancer is the third leading cause of cancer related deaths in Korean women. Members of the erbB receptor family, the EGF receptor and c-erbB2, c-erbB3 and c-erbB4, are commonly over-expressed in human breast cancer and there is a high correlation with an aggressive breast cancer phenotype and poor patient prognosis. Since the over-expression of the EGF receptor and c-erbB2 suggested that signalling of erbB receptors may contribute to the development and progression of breast cancer, we investigated the correlation of clinicopathological factors and the immunohistochemical expression of c-erbB2, c-erbB3 and c-erbB4. To determine the c-erbB immunoreactivity, we used Rabbit anti-human c-erbB2 oncoprotein (DAKO, Denmark), mouse monoclonal c-erbB3(RTJ.2 Santa Cruz) and rabbit polyclonal antibody c-erbB4(Santa Cruz) directed against each c-erbB protein by immunohistochemistry from paraffin-embedded tissue in a series of 190 women with breast cancer. About 25.8%(49 out of 190 patients) of breast cancers overxpressed c-erbB2, and 40.0%(76 out of 190 patients) and 18.9%(36 out of 190 patients) overxpressed c-erbB and c-erbB4, respectively. Poor histologic grade showed tendency of positive correlation of the positivity of c-erbB2 and 3 but without statistical significance and no correlation with c-erbB4. We observed positive correlations among c-erbB2, c-erbB3 and c-erbB4 expression.(p<0.05) Estrogen receptors (ER) showed incerse correlations with c-erbB2(p=0.001), c-erbB3(p=0.043) and c-erbB4(p=0.197) and progesterone receptors also showed invers correlation with c-erbB(p=0.018). Tumor size (p>0.05) and lymph node status(p>0.05) were not related with c-erbB family expression. The expressions of c-erbB2, c-erbB3 and c-erbB4 showed no survival benefit or no disease free benefit compared to c-erbB family negativity in univariate analysis (Kaplan-Meier life table analysis). Our results suggest that c-erbB2, c-erbB3, and c-erbB4 may regulate the growth of breast cancer by the interactions of these family of growth factor receptor that are dependent of hormonal control.
