Open AccessThe Role of HER‐2/ neu Oncogene and Vimentin Filaments in the Production of the Paget's Phenotype
Author(s) -
Hanna Wedad,
Alowami Salem,
Malik Abha
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
the breast journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.533
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1524-4741
pISSN - 1075-122X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1524-4741.2003.09610.x
Subject(s) - vimentin , medicine , cancer research , phenotype , malignancy , pathology , breast cancer , breast carcinoma , cancer , metastasis , oncogene , immunohistochemistry , biology , gene , cell cycle , biochemistry
The histogenesis as well as the biological and molecular differences in mammary Paget's disease (MPD) and extramammary Paget's disease (EPD) are not well understood. HER‐2/ neu oncogene overexpression is associated with poor prognosis in breast cancer patients. It is also believed that the spread of Paget's cells through the epidermis is induced by a motility factor that acts via the HER‐2/ neu receptor. However, previous studies on HER‐2/ neu expression in MPD and EPD have given conflicting results. Recent studies have suggested that vimentin expression in breast cancer confers a more aggressive phenotype with a possible role in tumor invasion and metastasis. We examined 58 cases of MPD and EPD for HER‐2/ neu overexpression and vimentin status to study the role of these markers in the production of the Paget's phenotype. Thirty‐five of the 38 cases (92.1%) of MPD were associated with an underlying carcinoma, while none of the cases of EPD were associated with an underlying malignancy. Thirty‐six of the 38 cases of MPD (94.7%) overexpressed the HER‐2/ neu oncoprotein and 17 cases (44.7%) showed vimentin expression. In contrast, only 1 of the 20 cases of EPD (5%) showed positivity for HER‐2/ neu oncoprotein and all were negative for vimentin. Our results indicate that the cell motility enhancing effect of HER‐2/ neu oncoprotein and possibly vimentin plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of MPD which appears to be a pagetoid spread of an underlying ductal malignancy (secondary), while EPD is an in situ malignant transformation of a totipotential epidermal cell or glandular epithelium.