Prognosis significance of HER-2eu overexpression/amplification in Chinese patients with curatively resected gastric cancer after the ToGA clinical trial

摘要

Background HER-2eu-targeted therapy has been successfully used in advanced gastric cancer, but the role of HER-2eu in the prognosis of gastric cancer is not yet clear. In this study, we investigated the correlation between HER-2eu expression and amplification as well as their association with clinic outcomes in patients with curatively resected gastric cancer. Methods We constructed tissue microarray blocks containing >70% of gastric cancer tissue and matched adjacent normal gastric tissue for 227 patients. Expression of the HER-2eu protein in these specimens was analyzed using immunohistochemical staining. Amplification of HER-2eu was also analyzed for the same samples using fluorescence in situ hybridization. Data on clinicopathological features and relevant prognostic factors in these patients were analyzed. Results Of the 227 gastric cancer samples, 11.89% were positive for HER-2eu overexpression/amplification under the new scoring system. HER-2eu overexpression/amplification was closely correlated to the Lauren type, degree of differentiation, tumor size and lymph node metastasis. HER-2eu overexpression/amplification predicted poor survival in univariate analysis but not in a Cox proportional hazards model. Conclusion HER-2eu overexpression/amplification was not an independent predictor for survival in patients with curatively resected gastric cancer.