c-erbB-2 oncogene is a gene that encodes a growth factor receptor-like molecule with tyrosine kinase activity and has a structure similar to that of the epidermal growth factor receptor. The oncoprotein encoded by this gene is a 185-kilodalton
transmembrane glycoprotein. Overexpression of the c-erbB-2 oncoprotein is human adenocarcinoma of the breast, ovary, and salivary gland, in which association between overexpression of the c-erbB-2 and poor prognosis of the disease has been
reported. The
role of c-erbB-2 oncoprotein in the tumorigenesis of the uterine cervix has been poorly understood and controversial. In order to explore the relationship between c-erbB-2 oncoprotein status and cervical carcinoam, tissues were analyzed from 40
patients, each of whom had invasive cervical carcinoma prior to treatment, 10 patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and 10 control cases who underwent hysterectomy due to benign gynecological disease at Yonsei University College
of
Medicine. We measured c-erbB-2 oncoprotein with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) which was a sandwich type.
Patients with invasive cervical cancer were found to have significantly higher median c-erbB-2 oncoprotein expression than patients with either the patients with CIN9P=0.02) or the control(P=0.001), respectively. However, there was no significant
difference in c-erbB-2 oncoprotein status between ICN and the control groups. Overexpression of c-erbB-2 oncoprotein was found in 12 of 40(30%) invasive cervical cancers and in 10(10%) CIN patients. In invasive cervical cancer, no significant
difference
in c-erbB-2 oncoprotein levels was noted when stratified according to age, menopausal status, histological cell type, lesion size or clinical stage.
Our results were consistent with the concept that c-erbB-2 oncoprotein may play an important role in malignant transformation and tumorigenesis in cervical cancer. But, further study based on larger numbers of cases with correlation to c-erbB-2
oncoprotein status and complete follow-up survival data will help the prognostic significance of c-erbB-2 oncoprotein in patients with cervical carcinoma.
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