Evaluation of Tissue Expression and Salivary Levels of HER2/neu in Patients with Head and Neck Squamous cell Carcinoma

• Published in: Iranian journal of otorhinolaryngology 2012-10, Vol.24 (69), p.161-170
• Main Authors: Soheil Pardis, Yasaman Sardari, Mohammad Javad Ashraf, Azadeh Andisheh Tadbir, Hooman Ebrahimi, Sara Purshahidi, Bijan Khademi, Mohammad Javad Fattahi, Marzieh Hamzavi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Carcinoma; HER2/neu; Salivary Gland; Squamous cell of head and neck; Tissue expression
• ISSN: 2251-7251; 2251-726X

Introduction: HER2/neu, a member of the epidermal growth factor receptor family, has been shown to be over-expressed in some tumors. The purpose of this study was to determine the salivary levels and tissue expression of HER2/neu in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and their correlation with clinicopathologic parameters.   Materials and Methods: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were used to evaluate the salivary levels of HER2/neu and immunohistochemistry was used to measure tissue expression of HER2/neu in 28 patients with HNSCC and 25 healthy control subjects.   Results: The salivary levels of HER2/neu in patients with HNSCC were not significantly higher compared to healthy control subjects. There was no apparent correlation between salivary HER2/neu levels and clinicopathological features such as age, sex, tumor grade, tumor size and nodal status. All HNSCC specimens were positive (membranous or/and cytoplasmic) for HER2/neu, except one sample. Only one HNSCC specimen showed staining purely in the tumor-cell cytoplasm. All control specimens were also positive for both membranous and cytoplasmic HER2/neu but there was a significant difference between the level of cytoplasmic staining in the HNSCC specimens and in the control specimens (P