Quantitative analysis of p185HER-2/neu protein in breast cancer and its association with other prognostic factors

✍ Scribed by Pilar F. Valerón; Ricardo Chirino; Victor Vega; Orlando Falcón; Juan F. Rivero; Santiago Torres; Laureano León; Leandro Fernández; José Pestano; Bonifacio Díaz-Chico; Juan C. Díaz-Chico

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: French
• Weight: 102 KB
• Volume: 74
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0020-7136
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0215(19970422)74:2<175::aid-ijc6>3.0.co;2-w

✦ Synopsis

The total cellular p185 HER-2/neu protein (p185) content was measured by ELISA in 346 invasive primary breast cancers, and the results were compared with those of estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR) receptors, pS2 and Cathepsin D (Cat D) content. At a cut-off level of 260 fmol/mg protein, 53 of the 346 tumors (15%) were p185-positive. A significant positive correlation was observed between p185 levels and those of Cat D, and a weaker, though significant, positive correlation with ER, and pS2 levels, but not with those of PR. However, when only the 293 p185-negative tumors were considered, the correlation between p185 and ER improved substantially, and statistical significance was reached for PR. p185-positive tumors exhibited lower ER and PR content and higher Cat D content than p185-negative tumors. The pS2 content, in contrast, did not undergo significant variation. Tumors considered to be p185-positive were significantly more frequently positive for Cat D at the cut-off of 45 pmol/mg protein, and were more frequently negative for ER and/or PR, but only significant at the cut-off of 15 fmol/mg or higher for both steroid receptors. Finally, p185 status was not associated with menopausal status, tumor size, axillary-lymph-node invasiveness or distant metastases. These results suggest that 260 fmol/mg protein as the cut-off for p185 allows the identification of a tumoral sub-population with a more aggresive phenotype.