Elevated serum levels of a c-erbB-2 oncogene product in oral squamous cell carcinoma patients.
OBJECTIVE
Amplification of the proto-oncogene c-erbB-2 (HER-2/neu) has been shown to be a prognostic marker in many kinds of cancer including oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). In order to obtain further information on the c-erbB-2 gene product p185, it is necessary to quantify expression levels. In this study we used an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the extracellular domain of p185 to determine whether a soluble oncoprotein fragment can be detected in the serum of OSCC patients.


METHODS
Sera from 84 OSCC patients, 51 breast cancer patients (as positive controls), and 15 healthy controls were assayed in an ELISA. To study c-erbB-2 overexpression in OSCC, and breast cancer tissue samples we used an immunohistochemical technique.


RESULTS
The mean serum value (ng/ml, mean/SD) for the normal controls was 8.46/1.29. We chose the 95% level of normal controls as a cut-off to distinguish individuals with elevated levels. The breast cancer patients' and OSCC patients' serum values were 13.83/6.82 and 13.1/4.56, respectively. Significant differences (P < 0.0001) were observed between normal control and OSCC, normal control and the breast cancer group. Immunohistochemically detectable p185 (intermediate to high) was noted in 30 of 61 OSCC, and 24 of 51 breast cancer patients. There was a trend of association of serum oncoprotein fragment levels with tumor stages, but not with tumor sizes, nodal stages, metastases, and oral habits including betel quid chewing, alcohol drinking and smoking in the OSCC group.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of the present study raise the possibility that soluble c-erbB-2 protein levels in serum is a useful parameter for monitoring the disease status as well as the effect of therapy on patients with OSCC.
Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Kaohsiunb Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
C H
CH
Chen
Y S
YS
Lin
C C
CC
Lin
Y H
YH
Yang
Y P
YP
Ho
C C
CC
Tsai
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000097:blood*; D012044:Regression Analysis
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; C000715470:MAS1 protein, human