title: HER family receptor expression and prognosis in pancreatic cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  HER family receptors play a key role in tumor progression in several malignancies, such as colorectal, lung or breast cancer. The aims of this study were to investigate expression of HER-1, HER-2 and HER-3 in pancreatic cancer (PC) samples and evaluate the association between HER-family receptor expression and patients' clinical outcomes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tissue samples from 91 PC patients were subjected to immunohistochemical staining to assess the expression of HER-1, HER-2 and HER-3. Semiquantitative scores of zero (no staining or staining in less than 10% of cancer cells), 1+, 2+ or 3+ were assigned to each sample based on the intensity of staining for HER receptors. Scores of 2+ or 3+ were defined as positive staining.
  
  
  RESULTS
  HER-1 overexpression was observed in 41 out of 91 samples (45.1%), while HER-2 was not overexpressed in any of the analyzed samples. HER-3 was overexpressed in 37 samples (40.7%) and was found to be associated with advanced TNM stage. In particular, HER-3 was overexpressed in 12 out of 16 stage IV patients (75%) compared with only 33.3% of stage I-III patients (p = 0.02). Among 79 patients with available survival data, the 6 patients with strong HER-3 expression (score 3+) had a shorter survival compared with remaining patients (median overall survival 6.9 months vs. 12.3 months, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HER-1 and HER-3 were found to be expressed in a significant proportion of PC patients. Strong HER-3 expression represents an indicator of poor prognosis in PC patients, being associated with advanced stage and shorter survival.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, AOU United Hospitals, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona - Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bittoni
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mandolesi
authors.forename: Kalliopi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Andrikou
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Santoni
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alfonsi
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lanese
authors.forename: Cristian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Loretelli
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pellei
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Piva
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scarpelli
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cascinu
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019281:Dimerization; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010180:Pancreatectomy; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D016037:Single-Blind Method
chemical_list: D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D066246:ErbB Receptors