Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2005 Jun;58(6):611-6.
doi: 10.1136/jcp.2004.022772.

Association between tumour characteristics and HER-2/neu by immunohistochemistry in 1362 women with primary operable breast cancer

H J Huang  1 , P Neven, M Drijkoningen, R Paridaens, H Wildiers, E Van Limbergen, P Berteloot, F Amant, I Vergote, M R Christiaens
Affiliations

Association between tumour characteristics and HER-2/neu by immunohistochemistry in 1362 women with primary operable breast cancer

H J Huang et al. J Clin Pathol. 2005 Jun.

Abstract

Aims: To investigate the association between tumour characteristics and HER-2/neu by immunohistochemistry in primary operable breast cancer.

Methods: The association between HER-2/neu and other clinicopathological factors was evaluated in 1362 consecutive patients with primary breast cancer treated between 2000 and July 2003 in one centre. Microscopic tumour size, tumour grade, lymph node status, patient's age, oestrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and joint ER/PR status were evaluated, using the chi2 test for univariate analysis and logistic regression for multivariate analysis. The hormone receptors and HER-2/neu were studied immunohistochemically. Using the HER-2/neu DAKO scoring system, scores of 0, 1+, or 2+ were defined as negative and 3+ as positive. Data for DAKO scores 2+/3+ versus 0/1+ are also presented.

Results: Hormone receptor negative breast cancers were more often HER-2/neu positive than hormone receptor positive cancers, both for ER (28.7% v 6.8%) and PR (19.9% v 5.9%). In multivariate analysis, both ER, PR, and tumour grade were independently associated with HER-2/neu. In ER+ tumours, HER-2/neu overexpression was significantly lower in PR+ than in PR- cases (11.5% v 5.4%). HER-2/neu overexpression (2.7%) was lowest in the large subgroup of ER+PR+ tumours with low tumour grade (grade 1-2), comprising 46.1% of all patients.

Conclusions: ER, PR, and tumour grade are independent predictors for HER-2/neu overexpression in women with primary operable breast cancer. ER and PR are negatively associated with HER-2/neu, whereas tumour grade is positively associated with HER-2/neu. In women with ER+ tumours, PR status also affects the likelihood of HER-2/neu expression.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Akiyama T, Sudo C, Ogawara H, et al. The product of the human c-erbB-2 gene: a 185-kilodalton glycoprotein with tyrosine kinase activity. Science 1986;232:1644–6. - PubMed
    1. Benz CC, Scott GK, Sarup JC, et al. Estrogen-dependent, tamoxifen-resistant tumorigenic growth of MCF-7 cells transfected with HER2/neu. Breast Cancer Res Treat 1993;24:85–95. - PubMed
    1. Slamon DJ, Clark GM, Wong SG, et al. Human breast cancer: correlation of relapse and survival with amplification of the HER-2/neu oncogene. Science 1987;235:177–82. - PubMed
    1. Gusterson BA, Gelber RD, Goldhirsch A, et al. Prognostic importance of c-erbB-2 expression in breast cancer. J Clin Oncol 1992;10:1049–56. - PubMed
    1. Kronqvist P, Kuopio T, Nykanen M, et al. Predicting aggressive outcome in T1N0M0 breast cancer. Br J Cancer 2004;9:277–81. - PMC - PubMed