An investigation of the differential expression of Her2/neu gene expression in normal oral mucosa, epithelial dysplasia, and oral squamous cell carcinoma in Taiwan.
BACKGROUND
Her2/neu was thought to be a proto-oncogene with sequence homology to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Its overexpression was seen in many cancers and referred to regimens of anticancer therapy. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the abnormal expression existed in oral carcinogenesis.


METHODS
Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to detect Her2/neu expression in normal oral mucosa (NOM) (n = 20), oral precancerous lesions of epithelial dysplasia (ED) (n = 20), and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) (n = 30). The association of clinicopathologic covariates of areca use, tumor size, neck lymph node metastasis, differentiation and stages of cancer with the expression of Her2/neu was examined. The significance of Neu immunoreactivity in different groups or with different covariates was investigated using Fisher's exact test.


RESULTS
Her2/neu immunoreactivity was very low with Her2/neu(+) in 10% (2/20) of NOM cases and in 25% (5/20) of ED cases, respectively. The Her2/neu expression was high in OSCC cases, with 40% (12/30) of Her2/neu(+) and 10% (3/30) of Her2/neu(++). Significant difference was observed between NOM/ED and OSCC cases (p < 0.05). All clinicopathologic covariates showed no significant relation to the expression of Her2/neu in OSCC cases.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggested a dynamic change in Her2/neu expression during the development of OSCC. The overexpression of Her2/neu can be used as a marker in distinguishing NOM/ED from OSCC.
Fong
Yao
Y
Department of Surgery, Chi-Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Chou
Shan-Ju
SJ
Hung
Kai-Feng
KF
Wu
Ho-Tai
HT
Kao
Shou-Yen
SY
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D018734:Genes, erbB-2; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology; D011230:Precancerous Conditions / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics*
D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; C000715470:MAS1 protein, human