c-erbB-2 protein expression in astrocytic tumors of the brain

An immunohistochemical study of HER2 expression in primary brain tumors

Background

Primary brain tumors (PBTs) include any tumor in the brain whose prognosis is weak because of their histological characteristics.

Aim

Herein, this study aimed to assess the HER2 tumor marker frequency in PBTs.

Materials and methods

This study was done on the samples of primary brain tumor diagnosis from 2008 to 2015.

Results

Out of 107 patients of brain tumor that had a mean age of 40.4 years (61.7% men), the most common location of the tumor was in the supratentorial region (63.85% cases). The prevalence of high-grade astrocytoma (HGA) and low-grade astrocytoma (LGA) at diagnosis was 43.9% and 37.4%, respectively. With regard to HER2 score, HER2-positive (scores 2 & 3) was in 42.1% of patients. On the other hand, HER2-negative (−) was in 57.9%, 2+ in 33.6%, and 3+ in 8.4% of patients. The patients of LGA had significantly younger ages, lower HER2 positivity, and lower HER2 percent compared with the HGA patients.

Conclusions

The type of brain tumors can impact on HER2 expression that high HER2 expression in HGA may be helpful for therapeutic aims. Further studies are required to support these results with a higher volume of patients in the world.

Overcoming blood–brain barrier by HER2-targeted nanosystem to suppress glioblastoma cell migration, invasion and tumor growth

Herein we synthesize an HER2 antibody-conjugated selenium nanoparticle platform can efficiently deliver both therapeutic agents and diagnostic agents (superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles) across the BBB into the tumor tissues and enhances their effects on brain tumor treatment and MR imaging.

C-erbB2/HER2 in human gliomas, medulloblastomas, and meningiomas: a minireview

C-erbB2/HER2 serves as an important prognostic and predictive biomarker in various human tumors, especially in breast cancer, whereas its role in human intracranial tumors is more uncertain. We therefore performed a search in PubMed to get an update. This literature review comprises immunohistochemical studies on the clinical significance of c-erbB2/HER2 overexpression in gliomas, medulloblastomas, and meningiomas. In general, the findings were discrepant with regard to correlations between overexpression, tumor grade, and prognosis. Use of various antibodies may be a contributing factor to these discrepancies. Standardization of the immunohistochemical procedures is a relevant topic for discussion.