Amplification and expression of the c-erbB-2 oncogene in Müllerian-derived genital-tract tumors.
This study focused on 18 uterine corpus tumors and 7 ovarian endometrioid tumors, all of them malignant and Müllerian derived. Differential polymerase chain reaction (DPCR), dot blot hybridization, and immunohistochemical technique were employed to determine c-erbB-2 amplification and expression. Of 25 Müllerian-derived tumors, 17 (68.0%) demonstrated amplified c-erbB-2 (two to eight copies) by DPCR. These 25 samples were reexamined by dot blot and immunohistochemical technique, revealing c-erbB-2 amplification and expression of to be 52.0 and 40.0%, respectively. There seemed to be a slight correlation between the amplification and expression of c-erbB-2 and patient survival. Although c-erbB-2 was frequently present in Müllerian-derived genital-tract tumors, it is uncertain whether this oncogene may serve as their sole prognostic marker. The question remains whether c-erbB-2 alone, or in conjunction with other oncogenes or suppressor genes, accounts for the pathogenesis of Müllerian-derived tumors. However, these results suggest for the first time in the literature that DPCR is a sensitive enough technique for detecting c-erbB-2 amplification in M ullerian-derived tumors.
Manavi
M
M
Clinic of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Department of Special Gynecology, University of Vienna, Vienna, A-1090, Austria.
Berger
A
A
Kucera
E
E
Schneeweiss
A
A
Kucera
H
H
Kubista
E
E
Czerwenka
K
K
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D018734:Genes, erbB-2; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008875:Middle Aged; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011379:Prognosis; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000032:analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014594:Uterine Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology
D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases