UROTHELIAL CARCINOMA STUDY OF EXPRESSION AND AMPLIFICATION OF HUMAN EPIDERMAL GROWTH FACTOR RECEPTOR 2 (HER-2/neu) IN SIDI BEL ABBES, ALGERIA

Background: The HER-2 protein or p185her2 is a membrane receptor with tyrosine kinase activity encoded by HER-2/neu gene. Overexpression of HER 2/neu has been observed in many human cancers, including bladder cancer. In our study, the expression of HER-2 protein is determined in the urothelial carcinoma, also known as Transitional Cell Carcinoma (TCC).

Patients and Methods: The study population consisted of 26 surgical specimens of TCC of bladder Tissue specimens were neutral formaldehyde-fixed and paraffin-embedded. Standard histochemical and immunohistochemical (IHC) staining were used for studied the expression of HER-2/neu completed with Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) when was necessary. The results were graded 0 as negative and 3 as positive and 1, 2 confirmed by FISH.

Results: Overall incidence of HER-2/neu overexpression and amplification was 69% (18 of 26) cases. Overexpression and amplification of HER-2/neu was not dependent to histological subtype (P=0.66), grade (P=0.66) or clinical subtype (P=0.39) and was more appeared in the patients with advanced stage, high grade of tumour.

Conclusions: These results are encouraging us the possibility to treat the patients with urothelial of bladder with high grade and advanced clinical stage, but determining the true contribution of trastuzumab requires a randomized trial.