title: The role of c-erbB-2 expression on the survival of patients with small-cell lung cancer.
abstract: The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and role of c-erbB-2 overexpression as a predictive/prognostic marker in small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC). We performed a retrospective study on subjects with a biopsy-proven diagnosis of SCLC. A chart review for demographic and clinical data was performed on patients with SCLC diagnosed between 1998 and 2004. c-erbB-2 overexpression was evaluated using immunohistochemistry performed on archival paraffin-embedded specimens. Sixty-seven patients with SCLC were identified (6 females, 61 males; median age- 56.5 yr, range-34-75) all of whom had adequate tissue specimens available for c-erB-2 testing. Of the 67 specimens, 12 (17.9%) showed c-erbB-2 overexpression. Seventy-five of the cases were positive for c-erbB-2, had extensive disease. The median overall survival of patients with SCLC whose tumors were positive and negative for c-erbB-2 were 8 +/- 0.9 months (95%CI 6.3-9.7) and 11 +/- 1.5 months (95%CI 8.0-14.0), respectively. c-erbB-2 overexpression detected using immunohistochemistry is observed in 17.9% of patients with SCLC and has statistically significant prognostic value. Our findings suggest that c-erbB-2 may be a potential target for site-specific immunotherapy in SCLC. Considering one technique examined, further molecular investigation is needed to confirm these preliminary findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Erciyes University Medical Faculty, Kayseri, Turkey. ozlemorcan@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Ozlem
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Canoz
authors.forename: Metin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ozkan
authors.forename: Vedat
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Arsav
authors.forename: Ozlem
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Er
authors.forename: H Senol
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Coskun
authors.forename: Serdar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Soyuer
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Altinbas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D001706:Biopsy; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate / Q000639:trends; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases