Activity of lapatinib a novel HER2 and EGFR dual kinase inhibitor in human endometrial cancer cells

In this study, we explore the therapeutic potential of lapatinib a selective inhibitor of both the EGFR and HER2 tyrosine kinases for the treatment of endometrial cancer. The effect of lapatinib on tumour cell growth and receptor activation was studied in a panel of human endometrial cancer cell lines. Candidate molecular markers predicting sensitivity were assessed by baseline gene expression profiling, ELISA, and western blot analyses. Multiple drug effect/combination index (CI) isobologram analysis was used to study the interactions between chemotherapeutic drugs and lapatinib. Concentration-dependent anti-proliferative effects of lapatinib were seen in all endometrial cancer cell lines tested, but varied significantly between individual cell lines (IC(50) range: 0.052-10.9 micromol). HER2 overexpression or increased expression of EGFR was significantly associated with in vitro sensitivity (P=0.024 or 0.011, respectively). Lapatinib exerts growth inhibition in a PTEN-independent manner. Sensitive cell lines also exhibited increased expression of EGFR ligands or HER3. In contrast, lapatinib-resistant cell lines exhibited high androgen receptor (AR) levels or epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (post-EMT) features. In endometrial cancer cells, at a wide range of clinically achievable drug concentrations, additive and synergistic interactions were observed for lapatinib plus carboplatin, paclitaxel, docetaxel, and doxorubicin. These observations provide a clear biologic rational to test lapatinib as a single agent or in combination with chemotherapy in endometrial cancer with HER2 overexpression. Expression of EGFR, its ligands, HER3, AR, and post-EMT markers warrant further evaluation to help define patients with HER2-nonoverexpressing endometrial cancer most likely to benefit from lapatinib.     

Effect of HER-2/neu overexpression on chemoresistance and prognosis in ovarian carcinoma

AIM: To investigate the effect of HER-2/neu protein overexpression on chemoresistance and prognosis in patients with epithelial ovarian carcinoma. METHODS: A total of 141 ovarian carcinoma tissues surgically resected between 1987 and 2003 were assessed by immunohistochemistry (IHC). The characteristic of the patients and immunohistochemical results were compared by chi2-test. Survival analysis was performed by the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test. RESULTS: HER-2/neu overexpression was detected in 18 cases (12.8%). There were no significant differences in histopathological subtypes (P = 0.3550), FIGO stages (P = 0.8858), or residual tumor size at first surgery (P = 0.6607) between the cases with HER-2/neu overexpression and the cases without HER-2/neu overexpression. Among the 58 cases which responded to chemotherapy, only five cases (8.6%) showed HER-2/neu overexpression. However, among the 38 cases which did not respond to chemotherapy, eight cases (21.1%) showed HER-2/neu overexpression. Overexpression of HER-2/neu had a tendency to relate with chemoresistance of epithelial ovarian carcinoma, but there were no statistically significant differences (P = 0.0817). No association was observed between HER-2/neu overexpression and cumulative survival rate (P = 0.4970). CONCLUSIONS: The results of the current study show that although HER-2/neu overexpression has a tendency to be associated with chemoresistance, it can not be a prognostic factor for the patients with epithelial ovarian carcinoma.     

胰腺癌k－ras基因突变及其与HER－2／neu表达的关系

采用ＰＣＲ技术，以石蜡切片中ＤＮＡ为模板，成功地在１９例胰腺癌中的１８例（９４．７％）扩增了ｋ－ｒａｓ基因片段。用特异核酸探针和Ｓｏｕｔｈｅｒｎ杂交检测了扩增后的ｋ－ｒａｓ基因。发现１８例中有１５例（８３．３％）含有点突变。未证实ｋ－ｒａｓ基因突变与预后的关系。免疫组化检测发现本组１９例中９例有ＨＥＲ－２／ｎｅｕ过表达井与患者预后不良密切相关。未证实ｋ－ｒａｓ基因突变与ＨＥＲ－２／ｎｅｕ过表达有关。结果提示：①ｋ－ｒａｓ基因突变在胰腺癌中极为常见，可作为诊断的指标；②ＨＥＲ－２／ｎｅｕ过表达也常见于胰腺癌，与ｋ－ｒａｓ突变关系不大，是一个极好的预后指标。     

Update on HER-2 as a target for cancer therapy: HER2/neu peptides as tumour vaccines for T cell recognition

During the past decade there has been renewed interest in the use of vaccine immunotherapy for the treatment of cancer. This review focuses on HER2/neu, a tumour-associated antigen that is overexpressed in 10–40% of breast cancers and other carcinomata. Several immunogenic HER2/neu peptides recognized by T lymphocytes have been identified to be included in cancer vaccines. Some of these peptides have been assessed in clinical trials of patients with breast and ovarian cancer. Although it has been possible to detect immunological responses against the peptides in the immunized patients, no clinical responses have so far been described. Immunological tolerance to self-antigens like HER2/neu may limit the functional immune responses against them. It will be of interest to determine whether immune responses against HER2/neu epitopes can be of relevance to cancer treatment.     

The expression of the neu oncogene product in breast lesions and in normal fetal and adult human tissues

The expression of the neu oncogene product was investigated in invasive and non-invasive ductal carcinomas of the breast, non-neoplastic lesions of the breast, fragments of normal adult and fetal breasts and in several other normal and fetal tissues at different weeks of pregnancy by means of an immunohistochemical study with monoclonal antibodies. The staining pattern along the cytoplasmic membrane was specific for malignancy and occurred in 29% of the breast carcinomas. It was observed in invasive carcinomas as well as in ductal carcinoma in situ and it showed a significantly higher expression in premenopausal women than in postmenopausal women. This higher expression was also present in oestrogen receptor-negative tumours. The tubules of the fetal and adult kidney, the absorption cells of the fetal and adult small and large intestine, the sebaceous glands of the fetal and adult small and large intestine, the sebaceous glands of the fetal and adult skin, the adult endocervix, the endometrium, the C-cells of the thyroid, hepatocytes and all ductal cells of the fetal breast showed a constant diffuse intracytoplasmic granular staining. staining. The same granular intracytoplasmic staining pattern was focally observed in rare cases of normal breast tissue in adults and in some cases of epitheliosis, aprocrine metaplasia and some breast carcinoma cells, which did not express neu oncogene product on their membrane. Western blot experiments showed that the cytoplasmic protein had a molecular weight of 155 kD (kilodaltons); the membrane protein is the known 185 kD neu protein.     

Neu (C-erbB-2) Oncogene in Breast Cancer and its Possible Association with the Risk of Distant Metastases a Retrospective Study and Review of Literature

By immunohistochemical staining C-erbB-2 (neu) oncogene was found on the cell membrane in 19 out of 44 primary breast cancers from a pathology archive. No obvious relation was found between neu oncogene, age, and lymph node status and tumor size. There was a tendency towards smaller primary tumors and more estrogen receptor-negative tumors in the oncogene-positive group. No case of distant metastasis during follow-up was found among the oncogene-negative patients, while 6 oncogene-positive patients developed such metastases. This suggests that the neu oncongene is an independant prognostic factor, which might predict the development of distant metastasis. Further studies including more patients and long-term survival analysis are, however, needed in order to evaluate the prognostic significance of the neu oncogene.     

食管鳞癌中人表皮生长因子受体Her-2/neu蛋白的过表达及预后意义

目的 分析食管鳞癌中Her-2/neu蛋白过表达的临床病理意义及其对预后的影响,探讨以Her-2/neu单抗对过表达Her-2/neu蛋白的食管鳞癌患者进行靶向治疗的可行性.方法 应用Hercep Test 试剂盒,对94例外科切除、病理诊断为食管鳞癌的标本中Her-2/neu蛋白的表达水平进行检测,并分析Her-2/neu蛋白的过表达与临床病理特征的关系以及与患者预后的关系.结果 HER-2/neu蛋白在癌旁组织及正常食管组织中的表达为阴性,在94例食管鳞癌中的过表达率为20.2%(19/94),其过表达与患者的性别、年龄、肿瘤部位、组织学分化程度、临床分期均无明显相关性(P>0.05),而与肿瘤浸润深度(T分期)以及淋巴结转移(N分期)具有一定的相关性.在T3+T4期的肿瘤组织中的过表达率明显高于T1+T2期的肿瘤组织中的过表达率(30.0% vs.13.0%),差异有统计学意义(χ~2=4.136,P=0.039);在N1期肿瘤组织中的过表达率明显高于在NO期肿瘤组织中的过表达率(26.8%vs.10.6%),差异有统计学意义(χ~2=3.711,P=0.045);生存分析显示HER-2/neu蛋白过表达组的总生存率低于非过表达组,差异有统计学意义(χ~2=6.258,P=0.017),而两组的无瘤生存率差异无统计学意义(χ~2=0.258,P=0.605);Cox模型多因素分析显示HER-2/neu基因过表达是影响患者总生存率的有意义的预后因素之一.结论 HER-2/neu基因过表达与食管鳞癌的浸润转移及预后密切相关,HEK-2/neu蛋白过表达检测可作为判断食管鳞癌生物学行为和预测预后的参考指标之一,并为HER-2/neu过表达的病例应用HER-2/neu单克隆抗体进行靶向治疗提供依据.     

Impact of triple negative phenotype on breast cancer prognosis

Triple negative (TN) [estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PgR)] (ER-/PgR-/Her2/neu-) breast cancer (BC) is an aggressive disease without tumor-specific treatment options. Our objective is to evaluate the relative contribution of combined Her2/neu (Her2) and hormone receptor (HR) status to BC progression. A prospective primary BC cohort of 1550 patients at our institution, stage I-IV, from 1998 to 2003 were categorized by HR and Her2 status into ER+/PgR+/Her2- (HR+/Her2-) (n = 1134), ER+/PgR+/Her2+ [triple positive (TP)] (n = 138), ER-/PgR-/Her2- (TN) (n = 183), and ER-/PgR-/Her2+ (HR-/Her2+) (n = 95). Clinical variables were chart abstracted and vital and disease status updated annually. Log-rank tests and Cox regression analyses were used to assess associations with survival. Patient age ranged from 21 to 88 years and average length of follow-up was 4.24 years. Overall survival at 5 years was 94% (HR+/Her2-), 91% (TP), and 81% (TN and HR-/Her2+) (log rank test = 22.22, p < 0.001). Disease-specific survival at 5 years was 98% (HR+/Her2-), 93% (TP), 88% (TN), and 86% (HR-/Her2+) (log rank test = 25.85, p < 0.001) and 5-year relapse-free survival was 95% (HR+/Her2-), 89% (TP), 84% (TN), and 76% (HR-/Her2+) (log rank test = 20.29, p < 0.001). In a model adjusted for age, race, TNM stage, and treatment using HR+/Her2- patients as the reference group, recurrence risk was 1.98 for TP (95% CI = 1.02 to 3.84), 2.32 for TN (95% CI = 1.32 to 4.08), and 4.25 for HR-/Her2+ patients (95% CI = 2.33, 7.75). A hierarchy of BC phenotypes defined by HR and Her2 status exists with progressively worse disease outcomes by category.     

The effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on histologic grade, hormone receptor status, and HER2/neu status in breast carcinoma

The use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to surgical resection for breast cancer is no longer restricted to patients with locally advanced disease. As preoperative treatment becomes more common, the question arises whether or not such therapy changes important tumor characteristics. The objective of our study is to compare histological grade, hormone receptor status, and HER2/neu expression pre- and post-therapy patients receiving preoperative neo-adjuvant chemotherapy. Forty patients status post-neoadjuvant treatment who had available archived pathologic material pre- and post-therapy were identified. Glass slides were reviewed retrospectively, and tumor grade, hormone receptor status, and HER2/neu expression were compared between the pre- and post-therapy specimens. No significant differences were noted between the pre- and post-specimens for two of the three parameters comprising the modified Bloom-Richardson grade, including degree of tubule formation (p = 0.062) and nuclear pleomorphism (p = 0.086). For mitotic activity, a decrease in score was observed between pre- and post-therapy specimens which was statistically significant (p = 0.021). However, there was no significant difference in the overall modified Bloom-Richardson grade (p = 0.118). Information was available regarding hormone receptor and HER2/neu status in 26 patients (65%). There was no significant difference between pre- and post-treatment specimens for hormone receptor status. However, there were more patients with HER2/neu overexpression after receiving neoadjuvant therapy (p = 0.027). Neoadjuvant therapy resulted in a significant decrease in mitotic count and an increase in the proportion of patients with HER2/neu overexpression. No significant changes were noted for the degree of tubule formation, nuclear pleomorphism, overall Bloom-Richardson score, and hormone receptor status. However, small sample size may be a limitation of these results.     

Prognostic significance of Her2/neu overexpression in patients with muscle invasive urinary bladder cancer treated with radical cystectomy

Introduction The aim of the study was to evaluate the status of Her2/neu protein expression in patients with muscle-invasive urothelial carcinomas of the bladder treated with radical cystectomy and to determine its prognostic significance. Material and methods We retrospectively analyzed the data of 90 patients who had undergone cystectomy for invasive transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder. Immunohistochemical analysis for Her2/neu was done on paraffin-fixed tissues with CB11 antibodies (BioGenex, San Ramon, CA, USA). Sections with grade 2 and grade 3 staining were considered positive for Her2/neu. Results Over a median follow-up period of 46 months (24–96 months) 46 patients are living without disease recurrence and six with recurrent disease either at the local site or with distant metastases. The remaining 38 patients have died. The median overall survival time was 50 months, and median disease-free survival time was 40 months. The Her2/neu status was significantly related to the tumor stage (P = 0.001), lymph node involvement (77% in N+ vs 23% in N0; P = 0.001) and the grade of the disease (32% of grade 2 vs 71% of grade 3; P = 0.037). Kaplan–Meier curves showed a significantly worse disease-related survival period (log rank P = 0.011) for patients with Her2 overexpressing tumors than for those without overexpression. In addition to tumor stage [P = 0.001; relative risk (RR) = 2.62] and lymph node status (P = 0.0001; RR = 2.95), Her2 status (P = 0.020; RR = 2.22) was identified as an independent predictor for disease-related survival in a multivariate analysis. Conclusion These results suggest that Her2 expression might provide additional prognostic information for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Future studies on Her2 expression with chemosensitivity and the efficacy of Her2-targeted therapies in urothelial carcinomas are warranted.