Prognostic significance of c-erbB2 overexpression in patients with metastatic gastric cancer.
BACKGROUND
Overexpression of the gene c-erbB2, which encodes a receptor tyrosine kinase, has been associated with prognosis and response to therapy in several solid tumors. This study was designed to test whether c-erb-B2 overexpression can be related to prognosis of patients with metastatic gastric cancer.


METHODS
Between 2005 and 2010, 46 cases of metastatic gastric cancer were evaluated immunohistochemically for c-erb-B2 overexpression. Overall survival (OS) and time-to-progression (TTP) served as the main outcome measures.


RESULTS
c-erbB2 was overexpressed in 19 (41.3 %) cases and 8 patients (17.4 %) had a c-erbB2 score of 3+ (a strong complete membrane staining observed in >10 % of the tumor cells). c-erbB2 expression was not associated with the clinicohistological characteristics of the study participants. The mean OS was 11.48 ± 1.03 months, whereas the mean TTP was 8.28 ± 0.8 months. Compared with patients with a score of 2+ or less (n = 38), those with a c-erbB2 score of 3+ (n = 8) had both a significantly lower OS (15.55 ± 1.63 vs. 8.22 ± 0.88 months, respectively, p < 0.05) and TTP (10.72 ± 1.81 vs. 6.11 ± 0.61 months, respectively, p < 0.05). After allowance for potential confounders, Cox regression analysis identified a c-erbB2 score of 3+ as an independent predictor of both OS (hazard ratio = 1.9; 95 % confidence interval = 1.1-3.7, p < 0.05) and TTP (hazard ratio = 1.8; 95 % confidence interval = 1.1-4.1, p < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that c-erbB-2 overexpression may have a prognostic significance in patients with metastatic gastric cancer.
Department of Medical Oncology, Uludag University Medical School, Bursa 16059, Turkey.
Muharrem
M
Bayrak
Omer Fatih
OF
Olmez
Ender
E
Kurt
Erdem
E
Cubukcu
Turkkan
T
Evrensel
Ozkan
O
Kanat
Osman
O
Manavoglu
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D011379:Prognosis; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D015854:Up-Regulation; D055815:Young Adult
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases