Her-2neu Expression in Endometrial Carcinoma Patients- A Preliminary Study from Western India

Background: Her-2neu is a gene from the epidermal growth factor receptor family.It regulates cell growth. HER-2neu overexpression or amplification is more common in type 2 endometrial cancer than in type 1. Overexpression of HerR-2neu has been associated with poor prognosis. This study aimed to evaluate Her-2neu expression in endometrial carcinoma patients. Method: 50 endometrial carcinoma patients were enrolled in this study. Her-2neu expression was studied using the immunohistochemistry method on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue and correlated with clinical and pathological parameters as well as disease status. Result: Her-2neu positivity was observed in 10% (5/50) of the cases. Her-2neu expression was more frequent in postmenopausal women (10%). Her-2neu expression was more common in patients with lymphovascular invasion (18%) and lymph node positivity (20%). A higher frequency of Her-2neu expression was observed in tumors of the following types: ER-negative (22%), p53 mutant (17%), WT1-positive (25%), and Vimentin-positive (12%). To disease-free survival, Her-2neu-positive tumors had a higher rate of relapse. Conclusion: In the present study, higher expression of Her-2neu was observed in patients with lymphovascular invasion, lymph node positivity, ER-negative tumors, p53-mutant tumors, WT1-positive tumors, and those with reduced disease-free survival (DFS). These findings suggest that Her-2neu is associated with disease spread, aggressiveness, proliferation in a hormone-independent manner, its role in the EMT (Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition) process, and negative prognostic implications.