Immunohistochemical expression of vegf and her-2 proteins in osteosarcoma biopsies.

OBJECTIVES

To identify the prevalence of erbB-2 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in osteosarcoma biopsies and to correlate them with possible prognosis factors.

METHODS

Retrospective study conducted at the Hospital do Câncer de Barretos-SP including 27 osteosarcoma biopsies immunohistochemically stained for VEGF and erbB-2. The pathological characteristics were collected from medical records of patients to correlate with markers.

RESULTS

In 27 biopsies, four overexpressed VEGF and three overexpressed erbB-2. Two thirds of patients had no metastases. Almost all patients with overexpression of VEGF showed metastases. Overexpression of erbB-2 was inversely related to the presence of metastases. There was no significant association between markers and prognosis.

CONCLUSION

We identified a low prevalence of erbB-2 and VEGF in the sample. There was no significant association between overexpression of markers and pathological features. A larger sample and a longer follow-up, in addition to using new laboratory techniques can determine the real expression of VEGF and erbB-2 and its role in osteosarcoma . Level of Evidence III, Case-Control Study.