Clinicopathological Parameters and Significance of Human Epidermal Growth Factor 2 Receptor Expression in Gastrointestinal Malignancies – A Tertiary Care Centre Study.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Colorectal cancers are the 3^rd leading cause and Gastric carcinoma is the 5^th leading cause of cancers world wide[1]. In India, gastric carcinoma stands out as the most common gastrointestinal cancer, accounting for 9% of cases [2]. The Gastrointestinal carcinoma’s are  also one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide, especially in gastric  and colorectal carcinomas. Her2/Neu is an oncogene located on the chromosome 17q21[3,7,23]. It is a member of the tyrosine kinase receptor family. Her 2neu data over expression in gastrointestinal cancer varies widely from 9 to 60% and in breast cancer it is 10–34% [3,4,6,12,15,16].

AIMS & OBJECTIVES: This study is aimed to investigate the status of HER2/NEU expression in various gastrointestinal cancers and its relationship with clinico-pathological parameters.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross sectional study was done for a period of 18 months (April 2022 to October 2023) in Department of Pathology, at a tertiary care center. Biopsy proven gastrointestinal carcinomas were reviewed. IHC using anti-HER2 antibodies was performed and scored according to Hoffmann et al. system. Association of Her2 expression with clinicopathological parameters were studied.

RESULTS: Out of the forty five cases, majority were males (72%), with a mean age of 65 yrs. HER2 expression was observed in 53% of tumors. It was associated with tumor grade and was noted more in gastric cancers.

DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION: HER2 positive rates may be associated with age, sex, tumor site, TNM staging system, distant metastasis, lymph node metastasis and differentiation grade in gastrointestinal cancer patients. This study offers a convenient way for doctors to select patients for relevant HER2 detection and treatment with molecular targets like Herceptin/ Trastuzumab.