The prognostic significance of human epidermal growth factor receptor family protein expression in operable pancreatic cancer : HER1-4 protein expression and prognosis in pancreatic cancer.

BACKGROUND: Prognostic factors aid in the stratification and treatment of cancer. This study evaluated the prognostic significance of human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER) family members (HER1-4) expression in patients with operable pancreatic cancer. METHODS: The expression of individual HER proteins in patient tissue specimens was detected by immunohistochemistry staining. Patient follow-up time was between 1.0 and 78.1 months. RESULTS: Positive expression of HER1, HER2, HER3 and HER4 was detected in 41.4, 60.0, 24.3 and 65.7% of cases, respectively. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that HER3 positive expression was associated with decreased median survival time (12.0 vs. 25.6 months for HER3 positive and negative groups, respectively; P = 0.013). Cox's regression confirmed that positive HER3 expression was an independent predictor of poor survival (RR = 3.684, P = 0.001). In contrast, HER4 negative patients had a significantly decreased median survival time when compared with HER4 positive patients (11.4 vs. 25.6 months, respectively; P = 0.027). However, HER4 was not an independent predictor of survival. No significant association between HER1 or HER2 expression and survival was observed (P = 0.626 & P = 0.859, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: HER3 is an independent prognostic marker for patients with operable pancreatic cancer. HER4 may also be of potential prognostic value in this disease and deserves further attention.