HER2 is Rarely Expressed in Endometrial Carcinoma in Sudanese Population

Background Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most common gynecologic cancer in high-income countries, and its incidence is increasing in low-and middle-income nations. Although differentiating between high-grade and low-grade tumors is mandatory for the survival of the patients, histomorphology alone has limited reproducibility owing to the overlapping of the morphologic features by routine H&E stain. Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER2) expression has been observed in various cancers with a potential role in prognosis and targeted therapy for EC. The study aims to explore the HER2 expression pattern and its potential role as a natural history predictor and target therapy in EC among Sudanese women. Methods A cohort of fifty-four Sudanese female patients diagnosed with endometrial cancer (EC) was evaluated for HER2 expression through immunohistochemistry using the Hercep Test (Dako, Glostrup, Denmark) from January 2019 to October 2021. Results The results showed that 92.59% of the cases were negative (0 or 1+), 5.56% were equivocal (2+), and only 1.85% were positive (3+). A statistically significant correlation was identified between HER2 expression and histological subtypes (P value = 0.01). However, the association between HER2 expression and tumor grade was insignificant (P value = 0.06). Additionally, no significant correlation was found between HER2 expression and lymphovascular invasion within the tumor (P value = 0.49). Conclusion The overexpression of HER2 is not prevalent among Sudanese patients diagnosed with endometrial carcinoma. Keywords: Endometrial carcinoma, HER2, Immunohistochemistry.