Evaluation of Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor-2 (HER2/neu) Expression in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: An Immunohistochemical Study

BackgroundOverexpression of human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2/neu) has been well-established in some epithelial malignancies, but its function in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is still debatable and varies greatly between studies.Finding trustworthy prognostic and therapeutic biomarkers is still difficult.The aim of this study is to evaluate the immunohistochemical expression of HER2/neu in oral squamous cell carcinoma and assess its potential relevance as a biomarker in an Indian population. Materials and methodsThis cross-sectional observational study included 43 histopathologically confirmed cases of OSCC.Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections were subjected to immunohistochemistry for HER2/neu using a standardized protocol.Appropriate positive and negative controls were employed.HER2/neu expression was assessed based on membranous staining patterns and interpreted according to established scoring criteria. ResultsAll 43 OSCC cases demonstrated the absence of HER2/neu expression, with no membranous staining observed in tumor cells.Internal and external controls showed appropriate staining, confirming the technical adequacy of the procedure.No association could be established between HER2/neu expression and clinicopathological parameters due to uniform negativity. ConclusionHER2/neu membranous expression was absent in all 43 OSCC cases included in this study.These findings indicate that HER2/neu overexpression was not detected in the study cohort.However, the results should be interpreted cautiously in view of the limited sample size and single-center design.Larger multicentre studies incorporating molecular validation, including HER2 gene amplification analysis, are required to further clarify the potential significance of HER2/neu in OSCC.