Department of Oral Pathology, College of Dentistry, Ziauddin Medical University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Research and Development, Islamabad Medical and Dental College, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University, Ilamabad, Pakistan.
Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2020 May 1;21(5):1465-1470. doi: 10.31557/APJCP.2020.21.5.1465.
HER-2/neu is a member of the human epidermal growth factor (HER) family of transmembrane tyrosine kinases, which is significantly associated with the pathogenesis of various cancer types. The aim was to evaluate the expression of HER-2/neu in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) as a potential biomarker to target antigens for specific immunotherapy in OSCC.
One hundred and forty histologically diagnosed OSCC cases were identified. Four to five-micrometer thick formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor sections were stained with Haematoxylin and Eosin (H and E). Histological grade was assessed according to WHO/Broders classification, while tumors were staged according to the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) TNM classification from stage I to IV. Immunohistochemistry was performed by using Rabbit monoclonal antibody against HER-2/neu (EP700Y, cell marquee and diluted 1:50). FISH was performed on positive cases using Vysis PathVysion HER-2 DNA probe (Abbott USA). Probes consist of LSI HER gene spectrum orange and control probe CEP 17 spectrum green.
In this study, males were mostly effected (64.3%) with buccal mucosa (49%) to be the commonly involved site for OSCC. Majority of cases were moderately differentiated (62.1%) and 50.7% tumors were Stage IV. HER-2/neu was found to be positive (2+) in one case of OSCC, however weak to moderate complete membrane staining was observed in >10% of the tumor cells. One hundred and thirty nine cases were HER-2/neu negative. FISH analysis of HER-2/neu positive cases also showed gene amplification (Her2-neu/ CEp 17 = 225/33 = 7.2).
The study showed disparity in the expression of HER-2/neu in OSCC, which is due to multiple reasons. Therefore therapy against HER-2/neu in OSCC is debatable.
HER-2/neu 是人表皮生长因子（HER）家族的跨膜酪氨酸激酶成员，与多种癌症类型的发病机制密切相关。本研究旨在评估 HER-2/neu 在口腔鳞状细胞癌（OSCC）中的表达，作为 OSCC 特定免疫治疗的潜在抗原靶标。
我们共选取了 140 例经组织学诊断的 OSCC 病例。对 4-5μm 厚的福尔马林固定、石蜡包埋的肿瘤切片进行苏木精和伊红（H&E）染色。根据世界卫生组织/布罗德分类法评估组织学分级，根据美国癌症联合委员会（AJCC）TNM 分类法从 I 期到 IV 期评估肿瘤分期。使用针对 HER-2/neu 的兔单克隆抗体（EP700Y，cell marquee，稀释度为 1:50）进行免疫组织化学染色。对阳性病例使用 Vysis PathVysion HER-2 DNA 探针（美国雅培）进行 FISH 检测。该探针包含 LSI HER 基因谱橙色和对照探针 CEP 17 谱绿色。
在这项研究中，男性受影响的比例较高（64.3%），最常见的发病部位是颊黏膜（49%）。大多数病例为中度分化（62.1%），50.7%的肿瘤为 IV 期。在 1 例 OSCC 中发现 HER-2/neu 阳性（2+），但在>10%的肿瘤细胞中观察到弱至中度完整膜染色。139 例为 HER-2/neu 阴性。对 HER-2/neu 阳性病例进行 FISH 分析也显示了基因扩增（Her2-neu/CEp 17=225/33=7.2）。
本研究显示 OSCC 中 HER-2/neu 的表达存在差异，这是由于多种原因所致。因此，针对 OSCC 中 HER-2/neu 的治疗存在争议。
