title: Is c-erb B-2 a predictor for recurrent disease in early stage breast cancer?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the prognostic importance of c-erb B-2 expression in early stage breast cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Immunohistochemical analysis for c-erb B-2 over-expression was retrospectively performed on 107 paraffin-embedded specimens of women with Stage I or II breast cancer entered in a randomized trial. Results were correlated with known prognostic factors such as pathologic axillary involvement, T-size, estrogen and progesterone receptor status, and nuclear grade. Immunohistochemical staining for c-erb B-2 protein expression was also correlated with breast/chest wall failure as well as survival without evidence of disease (NED) and overall survival.
  
  
  RESULTS
  C-erb B-2 overexpression was positive in 21% of the biopsy specimens. A significant association was found between c-erb-2 positivity and lesions containing an intraductal component, with 62% of lesions staining positively for c-erb B-2 having an intraductal component compared to only 36% of lesions with an intraductal component staining negatively for the c-erb B-2 protein (p2 = .031). A significant correlation between c-erb B-2 protein over-expression and axillary nodal status, primary tumor size, nuclear grade, and estrogen and progesterone receptor status was not identified. Cox proportional hazards model did not show a significant effect of c-erb B-2 expression for NED or overall survival.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study did not find over-expression of c-erb B-2 to reliably predict for recurrent disease in early stage breast cancer. This data can be added to other series comparing erb B-2 expression and disease outcome among node-positive and node-negative women with carcinoma of the breast.
authors.affiliation: Radiation Oncology Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Pierce
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Merino
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: D'Angelo
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Barker
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gilbert
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Cowan
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Steinberg
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Glatstein
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000737:chemistry; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D066246:ErbB Receptors; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases