Boonsriroj Hassadin, Tangtrongsup Sahatchai, Arunorat Jirapat, Mamom Thanongsak, Chantawong Pinkarn
Department of Veterinary Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mahanakorn University of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand.
Animal Diagnostic Laboratory Center, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mahanakorn University of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand.
Int J Vet Sci Med. 2025 Apr 24;13(1):1-12. doi: 10.1080/23144599.2025.2495522. eCollection 2025.
Canine hepatoid gland neoplasms (HGNs) are significant clinical concerns due to their high prevalence and diverse biological behaviour. Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), a tyrosine kinase receptor implicated in various aspects of tumorigenesis, has been extensively studied in human and animal neoplasms but remains unexplored in HGNs. This study aimed to assess HER2 immunoexpression in canine HGNs and its association with clinicopathological and morphological features. A total of 61 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples, including normal hepatoid glands ( = 10), hepatoid gland adenomas (HGAs, = 20), hepatoid gland epitheliomas (HGEs, = 16), and hepatoid gland carcinomas (HGCs, = 15), were analysed using immunohistochemistry. HER2 expression was scored based on percentage positivity and staining intensity. HER2-positive expression was detected in 50% of HGEs (score 2 + ) and 73.3% of HGCs, with 36.4% of cases scoring 3 + . In contrast, all HGAs and normal hepatoid tissues were HER2-immunonegative. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences in HER2 expression among normal and neoplastic hepatoid glands ( < 0.001). Only in HGCs, HER2 expression was significantly associated with tissue invasion ( = 0.007), mitotic count ( = 0.033), and nuclear pleomorphism ( = 0.007). These findings suggest that HER2 may play a role in the progression of malignant HGNs, particularly HGCs. This preliminary study highlights the potential of HER2 as a diagnostic marker and emphasizes the need for further investigation into its prognostic value and role in HER2-targeted therapy for canine HGCs.
犬类肝样腺肿瘤（HGNs）因其高发病率和多样的生物学行为而成为重要的临床关注点。人表皮生长因子受体2（HER2）是一种参与肿瘤发生各个方面的酪氨酸激酶受体，已在人类和动物肿瘤中得到广泛研究，但在HGNs中仍未被探索。本研究旨在评估HER2在犬类HGNs中的免疫表达及其与临床病理和形态学特征的关系。使用免疫组织化学分析了总共61个福尔马林固定石蜡包埋样本，包括正常肝样腺（n = 10）、肝样腺腺瘤（HGAs，n = 20）、肝样腺上皮瘤（HGEs，n = 16）和肝样腺癌（HGCs，n = 15）。根据阳性百分比和染色强度对HER2表达进行评分。在50%的HGEs（评分2 +）和73.3%的HGCs中检测到HER2阳性表达，其中36.4%的病例评分为3 +++。相比之下，所有HGA和正常肝样腺组织均为HER2免疫阴性。统计分析显示正常和肿瘤性肝样腺之间HER2表达存在显著差异（P < 0.001）。仅在HGCs中，HER2表达与组织侵袭（P = 0.007）、有丝分裂计数（P = 0.033）和核多形性（P = 0.007）显著相关。这些发现表明HER2可能在恶性HGNs尤其是HGCs的进展中起作用。这项初步研究突出了HER2作为诊断标志物的潜力，并强调需要进一步研究其预后价值以及在犬类HGCs的HER2靶向治疗中的作用。
