Epidermal growth factor receptor expression in normal ovarian epithelium and ovarian cancer
Article Abstract:
The epidermal growth factor receptor, located on the surfaces of certain cell types, plays a role in cell growth and development, although the physiological mechanisms are not well understood. In some malignant conditions, levels of epidermal growth factor receptor increase. For instance, increased epidermal growth factor receptor expression (synthesis of the protein) is associated with a poor prognosis in breast cancer patients. Although more women die of epithelial ovarian cancer (the most common type of ovarian cancer) than of all other gynecologic cancers combined, little is known regarding epidermal growth factor receptor expression in this malignancy. To learn more about this, tumor samples from 87 women who underwent surgery for ovarian cancer were analyzed for the presence of epidermal growth factor receptor. Fifty-seven patients had specimens removed during their initial surgery only, while 30 patients had specimens removed at a second surgery only. Five patients from the first group also had tissue removed at a second exploratory surgery. Ovarian tissue from six women undergoing surgery for benign conditions served as control material. Results showed that epidermal growth factor receptor was present in normal ovarian tissue in a homogeneous pattern, with staining of light or moderate intensity (a measure of the amount of epidermal growth factor receptor present). Among the 57 initial-surgery specimens, staining for epidermal growth factor receptor was absent in 11 specimens (19 percent); light in 18 (32 percent); moderate in 22 (38 percent); and heavy in 6 (11 percent). No changes in staining were noted for the five second-surgery specimens. Epidermal growth factor receptor was absent in 23 percent of the 87 cases of ovarian cancer studied, and no correlation was found between its presence and other histologic prognostic factors, nor was a correlation found between response to treatment and this receptor. However, patients whose tumors did not express epidermal growth factor receptor survived longer than those whose tumors expressed this protein. The data indicate that epidermal growth factor receptor is a prognostic indicator for epithelial ovarian cancer. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0002-9378
Year: 1991
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Overexpression of HER-2/neu in endometrial cancer is associated with advanced stage disease
Article Abstract:
A report is presented concerning the HER-2/neu gene, an oncogene (gene that can cause cells to become cancerous) that appears to be overexpressed (occurs in excessive amounts) in breast and ovarian cancer. Overexpression of HER-2/neu is associated with poor survival in advanced ovarian cancer, regardless of the size of the tumor remaining after surgery or its histological characteristics. The expression of HER-2/neu in endometrial cancer (cancer of the uterine lining) was studied by evaluating tissue from 95 women who underwent hysterectomy (removal of the uterus) for that disease, and 24 women who underwent hysterectomy for benign conditions. Results showed that histological staining for HER-2/neu was present only in the endometrial glands in both normal and cancerous endometrium. While staining intensity, a measure of gene expression, was light to moderate in all normal and most (91 percent) of malignant tissue, it was heavier when metastases (cancer spread) were present. High HER-2/neu expression was ultimately associated with a greater incidence of death from cancer: 10 percent of the 86 patients with light to moderate staining had died by the time of the report, compared with 56 percent of the nine patients with heavy staining. HER-2/neu is similar to the receptor for epidermal growth factor, but, unlike it, is confined to the endometrial glands. A discussion of HER-2/neu expression and tumor characteristics, including in breast cancer, is presented. Studies are underway to evaluate whether overexpression of this gene is a cause of tumor progression. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0002-9378
Year: 1991
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