Premium
c‐erbB‐2 oncoprotein expression in primary human tumors
Author(s) -
McCann Amanda,
Dervan Peter A.,
Johnston P. A.,
Carney Desmond N.,
Gullick William J.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(19900101)65:1<88::aid-cncr2820650119>3.0.co;2-z
Subject(s) - prostate , medicine , pathology , rectum , lung , immunohistochemistry , mammary gland , cancer research , breast cancer , cancer
Using a specific antiserum (21N) to the c‐erbB‐2 oncoprotein, a total of 405 primary malignant human tumors arising in the breast (n = 191), lung (n = 110), colon/rectum (n = 23), bladder (n = 48), prostate (n = 23), and skin (n = 10) were stained immunohistochemically to detect those tumors that over‐expressed this putative transmembrane receptor. Malignant cells showed intense positivity for this oncoprotein in 17% of the breast carcinomas, 4% of the colorectal tumors, 2% of the bladder tumors, and 1% of the nonsmall cell lung carcinomas. No positive staining was evident in the prostate, skin, or small cell lung carcinomas. This study shows that over‐expression of the c‐erbB‐2 oncoprotein is common in breast cancer but relatively rare in the other malignancies studied. In addition, this oncoprotein can be identified readily in routine paraffin‐embedded tissue.