title: The expression of HER-2 in extramammary Paget's disease.
abstract: Extramammary Paget's disease (EMPD) is a rare intraepidermal adenocarcinoma. The common sites of EMPD involvement are the vulva, perineal, perianal, scrotal and penile skin. Several studies have shown that HER-2/neu, also known as c-erbB-2, is amplified and overexpressed in many cancers. In this study, we investigated the expression and clinical significance of HER-2 in Japanese patients with EMPD. Keratinocytes in epidermis were slightly positive for HER-2. As for EMPD, 19 of 31 EMPD were positive for HER-2 (61%). There is significant correlation between the presence of invasion and strong positivity (3+) for HER-2 (p < 0.02). Furthermore, there is significant correlation between the presence of lymph node metastasis and strong positivity (3+) for HER-2 (p < 0.02). These results suggest that patients with EMPD strongly positive for HER-2 may have high risk for lymph node metastasis and should be followed up carefully. The observed overexpression of HER-2 in EMPD presents a potential therapeutic target for adjuvant treatment of this disease. Treatment with trastuzumab is well established in breast cancer with HER-2 overexpression and is recommended by several consensus statements. The results of the present study indicate that targeting therapies for HER-2, such as trastuzumab, may be used for EMPD particularly in patients with invasive and/or metastatic EMPD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Plastic Surgery, Kumamoto University, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Masuguchi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jinnin
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fukushima
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Makino
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sakai
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Igata
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ihn
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D053552:Keratin-7 / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018396:Mucin-1 / Q000235:genetics; D010145:Paget Disease, Extramammary / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics*; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen; D053552:Keratin-7; D018396:Mucin-1; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; C508053:ERBB2 protein, human