title: Association of human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 expression and clinicopathological findings in patients with colorectal cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To determine the frequency of HER-2 overexpression in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, and to explore the relationship between clinicopathological prognostic factors and their effects on survival, based on immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 80 patients with a histologically proven diagnosis of CRC that received adjuvant FOLFOX-4 chemotherapy at our department between March 2006 and September 2010. Patient data were analyzed retrospectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median follow-up period and age of the patients were 24 months and 59 years, respectively. In immunohistochemical staining, 3+ staining was found in 2 patients (2.5%) while 2+ was in 13 (16%) . FISH for HER-2 was performed for all of these 15 patients; samples which were 3+ showed positivity but the ones with 2+ were negative. There was no significant correlation between HER-2 expression and age, gender, tumor localization, histological subtype, grade, lymphovascular and perineural invasion, or pTN stage (P>0.05), even when the patients with HER-2 overexpression were analyzed separately. There was also no significant relationship between progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), and HER-2 expression, gender, tumor localization, obstruction-perforation, bleeding, histological type, grade, lymphovascular and perineural invasion, or pT staging (P>0.05); however, there was a significant relationship between lymph node involvement, and PFS and OS (P<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Evaluation of HER-2 overexpression in a more comprehensive, multi-center, prospective trial with standardized methods will be an appropriate approach.
authors: Deparment of Medical Oncology, Erciyes University Medical Faculty, Kayseri, Turkey. halitraca@hotmail.com
authors: Halit
authors: H
authors: Karaca
authors: Kemal
authors: K
authors: Deniz
authors: Veli
authors: V
authors: Berk
authors: Mevlude
authors: M
authors: Inanc
authors: Metin
authors: M
authors: Ozkan
mesh_terms: D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D066246:ErbB Receptors; D006801:Humans; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D066246:ErbB Receptors