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Human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 family in colorectal adenocarcinoma: correlation with survival and clinicopathological findings

Background and Purpose Erb-B1 (epidermal growth factor receptor, EGFR) and Erb-B2 (HER-2) are two of the best-characterized members in the EGFR pathway. In many tumor types, overexpression of these proteins is associated with enhanced malignant potential. The aim of this study was to determine the prognostic impact of EGFR and HER-2 protein expression on colorectal cancer. Method Immunohistochemistry was carried out in paraffin-embedded specimens of 115 colorectal carcinomas for the assessment of EGFR and HER-2 expression. Immunostaining for EGFR was graded negative, weak or strong according to extension and staining intensity. The results were correlated with traditional clinicopathologic parameters and patients' outcome. Results The mean survival time was 64 (range 9–78) months in the EGFR-negative group, 166 (range 2–293) months in the group with a low EGFR expression, and 51 (range 4–71) months in the group with a high EGFR expression. The median survival time was 31 (range 2–114) months in the HER-2 negative group, and 30 (range 4–293) months in the HER-2 positive group. None of the clinicopathologic parameters or patient prognoses had statistically significant association with EGFR or HER-2 expression. Conclusion Conventional immunohistochemistry was unable to reveal any association between EGFR or HER-2 expression and outcome predicted by the biologic role of EGFR in tumor behavior and the established prognostic role of HER-2 in breast cancer.