Serum HER2 levels are increased in patients with chronic heart failure

• Published in: European journal of heart failure 2007-02, Vol.9 (2), p.173-177
• Main Authors: Perik, Patrick J., de Vries, Elisabeth G.E., Gietema, Jourik A., van der Graaf, Winette T.A., Smilde, Tom D.J., Sleijfer, Dirk T., van Veldhuisen, Dirk J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; cardiotoxicity; Case-Control Studies; cytokine; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Genes, erbB-2 - physiology; heart failure; Heart Failure - blood; Heart Failure - genetics; Heart Failure - physiopathology; HER2; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Risk Factors; Severity of Illness Index; Sickness Impact Profile; trastuzumab; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - blood
• ISSN: 1388-9842; 1879-0844
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejheart.2006.05.010

Background The use of trastuzumab, an antibody against the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), in patients with HER2 positive metastatic breast cancer, is related to cardiotoxicity. Aims To investigate whether serum HER2 is increased in heart failure patients and related to disease severity. Methods Serum HER2, plasma tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and its soluble (s) receptors (sTNF-R1 and 2) were determined with ELISA in chronic heart failure patients and age and gender-matched healthy controls. Results Serum HER2 was higher (P=0.013) in 50 heart failure patients (18 female; median age 57 (range 33-77) years), mean 12.1±S.D. 2.3 ng/mL, than in 15 controls, 10.4±2.6 ng/mL. Serum HER2 levels correlated inversely with left ventricular ejection fraction (P=0.037) and were highest among NYHA class III patients, followed by NYHA class II patients and controls (P=0.029, Kruskal-Wallis test). STNF-R1 (P