title: Circulating Her-2/neu extracellular domain in breast cancer patients-correlation with prognosis and clinicopathological parameters including steroid receptor, Her-2/neu receptor coexpression.
abstract: HER-2/neu extracellular domain (ECD) can be detected in blood as a soluble circulating protein. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between HER-2/neu extracellular domain in the serum and the prognosis in breast cancer patients. We also correlated HER-2/neu ECD with various clinicopathological factors including steroid receptor, HER-2/neu receptor coexpression. The serum from seventy nine patients with invasive breast cancer and twenty individuals without malignancy was analyzed using the enzyme-linked immune adsorbent assay method. The cut-off value was estimated by the ROC curve analysis (15.86 μg/L). HER-2/neu ECD values in the serum of patients with breast cancer were significantly higher than in control subjects. Circulating HER-2/neu ECD was significantly associated with the histological grade of tumors and the status of axillary lymph nodes. Negative correlation was observed between HER-2/neu ECD in the serum and estrogen receptor positivity. When we analyzed HER-2/neu ECD in relation with coexpression of steroid receptor and HER-2/neu receptor in tissue, statistically higher values were found in the subgroup of patients with steroid receptor negative, HER-2/neu negative tumors than in the other subgroups. HER-2/neu ECD was not an independent factor in the univariate and multivariate analysis. However, elevated HER-2/neu ECD levels were found in patients with breast cancer possessing more aggressive phenotype.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Division of Oncology, University Hospital Center Zagreb and Zagreb Medical School, Kišpatićeva 12, HR- 10 000, Zagreb, Croatia, marina.baric11@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barić
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kulić
authors.forename: Maja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sirotković-Skerlev
authors.forename: Natalija
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dedić Plavetić
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vidović
authors.forename: Gordana
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Horvatić-Herceg
authors.forename: Damir
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vrbanec
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008875:Middle Aged; D060787:Neoplasm Grading; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000097:blood*; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000378:metabolism*; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone / Q000378:metabolism*; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone; C508053:ERBB2 protein, human