Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, ISSN - 0973 - 709X

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On Sep 2018




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Prof. Somashekhar Nimbalkar
Head, Department of Pediatrics, Pramukhswami Medical College, Karamsad
Chairman, Research Group, Charutar Arogya Mandal, Karamsad
National Joint Coordinator - Advanced IAP NNF NRP Program
Ex-Member, Governing Body, National Neonatology Forum, New Delhi
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Department of Pediatrics, Pramukhswami Medical College, Karamsad, Anand, Gujarat.
On Sep 2018




Dr. Kalyani R

"Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research is at present a well-known Indian originated scientific journal which started with a humble beginning. I have been associated with this journal since many years. I appreciate the Editor, Dr. Hemant Jain, for his constant effort in bringing up this journal to the present status right from the scratch. The journal is multidisciplinary. It encourages in publishing the scientific articles from postgraduates and also the beginners who start their career. At the same time the journal also caters for the high quality articles from specialty and super-specialty researchers. Hence it provides a platform for the scientist and researchers to publish. The other aspect of it is, the readers get the information regarding the most recent developments in science which can be used for teaching, research, treating patients and to some extent take preventive measures against certain diseases. The journal is contributing immensely to the society at national and international level."



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Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College
Sri Devaraj Urs Academy of Higher Education and Research , Kolar, Karnataka
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Dr. Saumya Navit

"As a peer-reviewed journal, the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research provides an opportunity to researchers, scientists and budding professionals to explore the developments in the field of medicine and dentistry and their varied specialities, thus extending our view on biological diversities of living species in relation to medicine.
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Professor and Head
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Saraswati Dental College
Lucknow
On Sep 2018




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Dr. Arunava Biswas
MD, DM (Clinical Pharmacology)
Assistant Professor
Department of Pharmacology
Calcutta National Medical College & Hospital , Kolkata




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Best regards,
C.S. Ramesh Babu,
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Muzaffarnagar Medical College,
Muzaffarnagar.
On Aug 2018




Dr. Arundhathi. S
"Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research (JCDR) is a reputed peer reviewed journal and is constantly involved in publishing high quality research articles related to medicine. Its been a great pleasure to be associated with this esteemed journal as a reviewer and as an author for a couple of years. The editorial board consists of many dedicated and reputed experts as its members and they are doing an appreciable work in guiding budding researchers. JCDR is doing a commendable job in scientific research by promoting excellent quality research & review articles and case reports & series. The reviewers provide appropriate suggestions that improve the quality of articles. I strongly recommend my fraternity to encourage JCDR by contributing their valuable research work in this widely accepted, user friendly journal. I hope my collaboration with JCDR will continue for a long time".



Dr. Arundhathi. S
MBBS, MD (Pathology),
Sanjay Gandhi institute of trauma and orthopedics,
Bengaluru.
On Aug 2018




Dr. Mamta Gupta,
"It gives me great pleasure to be associated with JCDR, since last 2-3 years. Since then I have authored, co-authored and reviewed about 25 articles in JCDR. I thank JCDR for giving me an opportunity to improve my own skills as an author and a reviewer.
It 's a multispecialty journal, publishing high quality articles. It gives a platform to the authors to publish their research work which can be available for everyone across the globe to read. The best thing about JCDR is that the full articles of all medical specialties are available as pdf/html for reading free of cost or without institutional subscription, which is not there for other journals. For those who have problem in writing manuscript or do statistical work, JCDR comes for their rescue.
The journal has a monthly publication and the articles are published quite fast. In time compared to other journals. The on-line first publication is also a great advantage and facility to review one's own articles before going to print. The response to any query and permission if required, is quite fast; this is quite commendable. I have a very good experience about seeking quick permission for quoting a photograph (Fig.) from a JCDR article for my chapter authored in an E book. I never thought it would be so easy. No hassles.
Reviewing articles is no less a pain staking process and requires in depth perception, knowledge about the topic for review. It requires time and concentration, yet I enjoy doing it. The JCDR website especially for the reviewers is quite user friendly. My suggestions for improving the journal is, more strict review process, so that only high quality articles are published. I find a a good number of articles in Obst. Gynae, hence, a new journal for this specialty titled JCDR-OG can be started. May be a bimonthly or quarterly publication to begin with. Only selected articles should find a place in it.
An yearly reward for the best article authored can also incentivize the authors. Though the process of finding the best article will be not be very easy. I do not know how reviewing process can be improved. If an article is being reviewed by two reviewers, then opinion of one can be communicated to the other or the final opinion of the editor can be communicated to the reviewer if requested for. This will help one’s reviewing skills.
My best wishes to Dr. Hemant Jain and all the editorial staff of JCDR for their untiring efforts to bring out this journal. I strongly recommend medical fraternity to publish their valuable research work in this esteemed journal, JCDR".



Dr. Mamta Gupta
Consultant
(Ex HOD Obs &Gynae, Hindu Rao Hospital and associated NDMC Medical College, Delhi)
Aug 2018




Dr. Rajendra Kumar Ghritlaharey

"I wish to thank Dr. Hemant Jain, Editor-in-Chief Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research (JCDR), for asking me to write up few words.
Writing is the representation of language in a textual medium i e; into the words and sentences on paper. Quality medical manuscript writing in particular, demands not only a high-quality research, but also requires accurate and concise communication of findings and conclusions, with adherence to particular journal guidelines. In medical field whether working in teaching, private, or in corporate institution, everyone wants to excel in his / her own field and get recognised by making manuscripts publication.


Authors are the souls of any journal, and deserve much respect. To publish a journal manuscripts are needed from authors. Authors have a great responsibility for producing facts of their work in terms of number and results truthfully and an individual honesty is expected from authors in this regards. Both ways its true "No authors-No manuscripts-No journals" and "No journals–No manuscripts–No authors". Reviewing a manuscript is also a very responsible and important task of any peer-reviewed journal and to be taken seriously. It needs knowledge on the subject, sincerity, honesty and determination. Although the process of reviewing a manuscript is a time consuming task butit is expected to give one's best remarks within the time frame of the journal.
Salient features of the JCDR: It is a biomedical, multidisciplinary (including all medical and dental specialities), e-journal, with wide scope and extensive author support. At the same time, a free text of manuscript is available in HTML and PDF format. There is fast growing authorship and readership with JCDR as this can be judged by the number of articles published in it i e; in Feb 2007 of its first issue, it contained 5 articles only, and now in its recent volume published in April 2011, it contained 67 manuscripts. This e-journal is fulfilling the commitments and objectives sincerely, (as stated by Editor-in-chief in his preface to first edition) i e; to encourage physicians through the internet, especially from the developing countries who witness a spectrum of disease and acquire a wealth of knowledge to publish their experiences to benefit the medical community in patients care. I also feel that many of us have work of substance, newer ideas, adequate clinical materials but poor in medical writing and hesitation to submit the work and need help. JCDR provides authors help in this regards.
Timely publication of journal: Publication of manuscripts and bringing out the issue in time is one of the positive aspects of JCDR and is possible with strong support team in terms of peer reviewers, proof reading, language check, computer operators, etc. This is one of the great reasons for authors to submit their work with JCDR. Another best part of JCDR is "Online first Publications" facilities available for the authors. This facility not only provides the prompt publications of the manuscripts but at the same time also early availability of the manuscripts for the readers.
Indexation and online availability: Indexation transforms the journal in some sense from its local ownership to the worldwide professional community and to the public.JCDR is indexed with Embase & EMbiology, Google Scholar, Index Copernicus, Chemical Abstracts Service, Journal seek Database, Indian Science Abstracts, to name few of them. Manuscriptspublished in JCDR are available on major search engines ie; google, yahoo, msn.
In the era of fast growing newer technologies, and in computer and internet friendly environment the manuscripts preparation, submission, review, revision, etc and all can be done and checked with a click from all corer of the world, at any time. Of course there is always a scope for improvement in every field and none is perfect. To progress, one needs to identify the areas of one's weakness and to strengthen them.
It is well said that "happy beginning is half done" and it fits perfectly with JCDR. It has grown considerably and I feel it has already grown up from its infancy to adolescence, achieving the status of standard online e-journal form Indian continent since its inception in Feb 2007. This had been made possible due to the efforts and the hard work put in it. The way the JCDR is improving with every new volume, with good quality original manuscripts, makes it a quality journal for readers. I must thank and congratulate Dr Hemant Jain, Editor-in-Chief JCDR and his team for their sincere efforts, dedication, and determination for making JCDR a fast growing journal.
Every one of us: authors, reviewers, editors, and publisher are responsible for enhancing the stature of the journal. I wish for a great success for JCDR."



Thanking you
With sincere regards
Dr. Rajendra Kumar Ghritlaharey, M.S., M. Ch., FAIS
Associate Professor,
Department of Paediatric Surgery, Gandhi Medical College & Associated
Kamla Nehru & Hamidia Hospitals Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh 462 001 (India)
E-mail: drrajendrak1@rediffmail.com
On May 11,2011




Dr. Shankar P.R.

"On looking back through my Gmail archives after being requested by the journal to write a short editorial about my experiences of publishing with the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research (JCDR), I came across an e-mail from Dr. Hemant Jain, Editor, in March 2007, which introduced the new electronic journal. The main features of the journal which were outlined in the e-mail were extensive author support, cash rewards, the peer review process, and other salient features of the journal.
Over a span of over four years, we (I and my colleagues) have published around 25 articles in the journal. In this editorial, I plan to briefly discuss my experiences of publishing with JCDR and the strengths of the journal and to finally address the areas for improvement.
My experiences of publishing with JCDR: Overall, my experiences of publishing withJCDR have been positive. The best point about the journal is that it responds to queries from the author. This may seem to be simple and not too much to ask for, but unfortunately, many journals in the subcontinent and from many developing countries do not respond or they respond with a long delay to the queries from the authors 1. The reasons could be many, including lack of optimal secretarial and other support. Another problem with many journals is the slowness of the review process. Editorial processing and peer review can take anywhere between a year to two years with some journals. Also, some journals do not keep the contributors informed about the progress of the review process. Due to the long review process, the articles can lose their relevance and topicality. A major benefit with JCDR is the timeliness and promptness of its response. In Dr Jain's e-mail which was sent to me in 2007, before the introduction of the Pre-publishing system, he had stated that he had received my submission and that he would get back to me within seven days and he did!
Most of the manuscripts are published within 3 to 4 months of their submission if they are found to be suitable after the review process. JCDR is published bimonthly and the accepted articles were usually published in the next issue. Recently, due to the increased volume of the submissions, the review process has become slower and it ?? Section can take from 4 to 6 months for the articles to be reviewed. The journal has an extensive author support system and it has recently introduced a paid expedited review process. The journal also mentions the average time for processing the manuscript under different submission systems - regular submission and expedited review.
Strengths of the journal: The journal has an online first facility in which the accepted manuscripts may be published on the website before being included in a regular issue of the journal. This cuts down the time between their acceptance and the publication. The journal is indexed in many databases, though not in PubMed. The editorial board should now take steps to index the journal in PubMed. The journal has a system of notifying readers through e-mail when a new issue is released. Also, the articles are available in both the HTML and the PDF formats. I especially like the new and colorful page format of the journal. Also, the access statistics of the articles are available. The prepublication and the manuscript tracking system are also helpful for the authors.
Areas for improvement: In certain cases, I felt that the peer review process of the manuscripts was not up to international standards and that it should be strengthened. Also, the number of manuscripts in an issue is high and it may be difficult for readers to go through all of them. The journal can consider tightening of the peer review process and increasing the quality standards for the acceptance of the manuscripts. I faced occasional problems with the online manuscript submission (Pre-publishing) system, which have to be addressed.
Overall, the publishing process with JCDR has been smooth, quick and relatively hassle free and I can recommend other authors to consider the journal as an outlet for their work."



Dr. P. Ravi Shankar
KIST Medical College, P.O. Box 14142, Kathmandu, Nepal.
E-mail: ravi.dr.shankar@gmail.com
On April 2011
Anuradha

Dear team JCDR, I would like to thank you for the very professional and polite service provided by everyone at JCDR. While i have been in the field of writing and editing for sometime, this has been my first attempt in publishing a scientific paper.Thank you for hand-holding me through the process.


Dr. Anuradha
E-mail: anuradha2nittur@gmail.com
On Jan 2020

Important Notice

Original article / research
Year : 2011 | Month : December | Volume : 5 | Issue : 8 | Page : 1564 - 1568 Full Version

Expression of Her-2/neu in Colon Carcinoma and Its Correlation with the Histological Grades and the Lymph Nodes Status


Published: December 1, 2011 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2011/.1729
Manmeet Kaur Gill, Kalpana Jain, Mridu Manjari, Tanveer Kaur

1. MD, Pathology, Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, AIMSR, Bathinda, India. 2. DNB, Pathology, Department of Pathology, AIMSR,Bathinda, India. 3. MD, Pathology Department of Pathology, SGRD, Amritsar, India. 4. BDS, Department of Periodontics, CDSH,Rau-Indore, India.

Correspondence Address :
Manmeet Kaur Gill,
H.N. 22265/A, Shant Nagar, Bathinda,
Punjab, India.
Phone: 9876610985
E-mail: drmanmeet27@yahoo.co.in

Abstract

Background and Objective: This study was done to check the expression of Her-2/neu in colon carcinoma and its correlation with the histological grades and lymph node metastasis. Colon cancer is the third prevalent cancer in men and women and it is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in both. Her-2/neu is a useful antigenic marker in immunological studies of colon carcinoma and it can be used for predicting the prognosis and the treatment.

Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted on 40 cases of histopathologically proven colon carcinoma cases to check for Her-2/neu expression by using the novocastra kit.Both cytoplasmic as well as membranous staining were considered as positive for colon cancer.

Results: Her-2/neu was positive in 65% of the cases. It was seen in 68.75% cases of well differentiated, 53.84% cases of moderately differentiated and 100% cases of poorly differentiated conventional adenocarcinomas. Mucinous carcinomas showed more positivity (71.4%)for Her-2/neu as compared to conventional adenocarcinomas (64.5%). The positivity was more in the grade III tumours as compared to that in the other grades. All the colorectal carcinoma cases with metastatic nodes were positive for Her-2/neu staining.

Conclusion: Thus, it was concluded that colorectal carcinomas, especially those with lymph node metastasis, should be subjected to Her-2/neu expression studies, as the tumours which expressed Her-2/neu could carry a poor prognosis and therefore would require a different therapeutic approach, as these cases could respond to Trastuzumab (Herceptin) therapy.

Keywords

Colon carcinoma, Her-2/neu Expression,Immunostaining

Introduction
Colon cancer is the third prevalent cancer in men and women and it is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in both. The worldwide incidence rate of colon cancer is increasing to approximately 2% annually (1). Environmental and dietary factors have also been considered to be important aetiological factors for 85-95% of all the colorectal cancer cases. Studies have documented higher incidence rates with increased dietary fat, particularly with diets which are rich in animal fat. A protective role of dietary fibres and supplemental calcium intake on colonic carcinogenesis has been suggested (2),(3). Epidemiological studies have reported that physical inactivity and obesity are associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer (4). Genetic susceptibility plays a significant role in colon cancer formation, as was evident from certain conditions which were associated with a high risk of colorectal cancer, such as family history, adenomatous polypi, familial polyposis, hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease (5).

Growth factors are the protein products of genes which are called proto-oncogenes, which are fundamentally important for normal cells. The HER (Human epidermal growth factor receptor) family of receptors; HER1 (EGFr), HER2 (Her-2/neu or ErB2), HER3 and HER4 are membrane-bound. The G-protein receptors, when activated, drive multiple signal transduction pathways which regulate the cellular growth (6).

HER-2 is located on chromosome 17q21 and it encodes a 185kD transmembrane protein that lacks a natural ligand. HER-2 activation initiates signal cascades including the MAPK (Mitogenactivated protein kinase) and PI3K/AKT (3-kinase) pathways that are essential for cell proliferation and differentiation (7).

In tumour model systems, the overexpression of the Her-2/neu gene correlates with mitogenesis, malignant transformation, increased cell motility, invasion and metastasis (8). Overexpression of Her-2/ neu has been reported in many other epithelial malignancies, including cancers of the lung, prostate, bladder, pancreas and oesophagus and in sarcomas (6).

Material and Methods

The present study was conducted on 40 cases of colon carcinoma which were received as surgically resected colon tissues. The relevant clinical history, family history, investigations and gross examination were recorded. The tissues were formalin fixed and paraffin embedded and sections of five microns thickness were cut and stained with haematoxylin and eosin for the histological typing and grading of the lesions. The sections were subjected to immunohistochemical staining for Her-2/neu to study its expression.

Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed on three-four micron thick sections which were made on poly-L-lysine-coated slides. Antigen retrieval was performed by heating the sections in citratebuffer at pH 6.0 by using a pressure cooker. The monoclonal antibody, RTU-CB11 (Novocastra Laboratories) was used for Her-2/ neu detection in a 1:40 dilution by using a standard streptovidinbiotin peroxidase method.

Results and interpretation of the IHC staining:
• The positive control tissue showed a brown coloured end product for Her-2/neu at the site of the target antigen in the cytoplasm and membrane of the cells.
• The negative control sections did not have any coloured product since there was no antigen antibody reaction.
• The tests which showed positivity in the form of a specific colour meant that the tissue had an antibody specific antigen.

IHC Scoring (6)
The tumour tissue with more than 10% cancer cells, which showed staining for Her-2/neu were classified as positive.

The staining pattern was seen as:
• Cytoplasmic
• Membranous cytoplasmic and
• Membranous

The intensity of the staining was categorized as:
• Weak
• Moderate and
• Strong

Scoring was done on the basis of the percentage of positive cells:
• +1  10-40%
• +2  41-70% and
• +3  > 70%
The data was compiled and analyzed statistically.

Results

A total of 40 colorectal carcinoma cases were included in the study. Of the total 40 cases, 24(60%) were males and 16(40%) were females. A peak incidence was seen in the 5th to 7th decades of life. The youngest patient was 19 years old and the oldest was 88 year of age. The lesions were present in the right colon in 17 cases and in the left colon and rectum in 23 cases.

The profile of colorectal carcinoma comprised of a maximum number of cases 31(77.5%) of conventional adenocarcinoma. Mucinous denocarcinoma was seen in 7(17.5%) cases. One case each of carcinoid and signet ring cell carcinoma were seen. The conventional adenocarcinomas comprised of 31 cases, out of which, 16 cases were of well differentiated (grade I) tumour, 13 cases were of moderately ifferentiated (grade II) tumour and two cases were of poorly ifferentiated (grade III) tumour.

Immunohistochemical staining for Her-2/neu was performed on all the 40 cases of colorectal carcinoma, the scoring was done and the results were interpreted in terms of the intensity, pattern and the percentage of Her-2/neu staining.

There were 26 (65%) Her-2/neu positive cases and 14 (35%) were Her-2/neu negative cases. 30% showed +3 staining, 12.5% showed +2 staining and 22.5% of the cases showed +1 positivity for Her-2/neu.The intensity of the staining in most of the cases varied from moderate (50%) to strong (12.5%), with weak staining in only one case. The pattern of staining in a majority of the cases was cytoplasmic, with only three cases of membranous-cytoplasmic staining, out of which two were of conventional adenocarcinoma with grade I and one case was of mucinous adenocarcinoma. No case showed a pure membranous pattern of staining (Table/Fig 1) and (Table/Fig 2).

Of the total 16 cases of grade I conventional adenocarcinoma, 11 cases showed positivity, whereas in grade II, out of 13 cases, seven cases were positive and there were only two cases of grade III, both of which showed positivity. This shows that the positivity was more in the grade III tumours (100%) as compared to the other grades (Table/Fig 3). It was evident that mucinous carcinoma showed more positivity (71.4%) as compared to conventional adenocarcinoma (64.5%).

In 20 patients, no nodes were recovered from the histopathological specimen which was sent for evaluation. Out of 20 cases in which the nodes were recovered, 50% (ten nodes) were metastatic and 50% (ten nodes) were reactive. All the cases with metastatic nodes were positive for the Her-2/neu staining. In the cases with reactive nodes, only four cases of colon carcinoma out of ten were positive for the Her-2/neu staining. There was a correlation between the increasing Her-2/neu score and the metastatic lymph nodes. This finding was statistically significant, with a p-value of
0.015 (Chi-square test) (Table/Fig 4).

It was noticed that as the age of the patient increased, the percentage positivity of the Her-2/neu staining increased and this finding was statistically significant, with a p-value of 0.002 (Chi-square test) (Table/Fig 5).

Discussion

Colon cancer is the third prevalent cancer in men and women and it accounts for nearly 15% of all the diagnosed cancers. The worldwide incidence rates of colon cancer are increasing to approximately 2%, annually (1). Immunohistochemistry refers to the process of localizing proteins in the cells of a tissue section, thus exploiting the principle of antibodies binding specifically to antigens in biological tissues. Immunohistochemistry is relatively inexpensive, widely available, easy to preserve and less time consuming and it requires a routine microscope.

Although the tumour is diagnosed histopathologically on light microscopy, various immunological markers are expressed by colorectal carcinomas and depending on them, the treatment and the prognosis differs. The various immunological markers for colon carcinomas are MUC1 and MUC3, p53, keratin (positivity for keratin 20 and negativity for keratin 7), CEA, Her-2/neu, CDX2, tumour associated glycoprotein (TAG-72), cathepsin, villin, hCG and PLAP (Placental alkaline phosphatase).

Her-2/neu is a useful marker which can be used to predict the outcome of colon cancers. Its overexpression correlates with a poor prognosis. Moreover, it is used to predict the patient response to adjuvant chemotherapy and endocrine therapy and to select the patients for immunotherapy with a targeted monoclonal antibody therapy (9),(10). Intuitively, the patients who overexpress HER-2 should respond to Trastuzumab (Herceptin) therapy, independent of the tissue of origin of the cancer. Herceptin has been shown to inhibit the colony formation of the HCA-colon cancer cell line and the HCA-7 tumour xenografts.

The Her-2/neu protooncogene is amplified and as a result, is overexpressed in 25 to 30% of the human breast cancers. In breast cancer staining, it was interpreted as follows: 0 = no staining; +1 = weak or incomplete membranous staining; +2 = moderate or complete membranous staining of at least 10% of the invasive tumour cells; and +3 = strong membranous staining of at least 10% of the invasive tumour cells. The cases which were interpreted as 0 or +1 were considered as negative, and the cases which were interpreted as +2 or +3 were considered as positive.

In the present study, 24(60%) were male patients and 16(40%) were females. Ghaffarzadegan, as well as Schuell, found a similar sex distribution in their studies (6),(11).

Our observations of the peak incidence of colorectal carcinoma in the 5th to 7th decades of life and the mean age of the patients being 53.9 years (SD ±16.7) with a range of 19 to 88 years, were almost the same as observed by Ghaffarzadegan and Neklason (6),(12).

Tavangar and associates reported 45.6% cases with involvement of the right colon and 54.4% cases with involvement of the left colorectal region (13). Similarly, in the present study, the lesions were present in the right colon in 17(42.5%) cases and in the left colorectal region in 23(57.5%) cases.

One of the important features of HER2 staining in colon cancer in our study, was the pattern of the staining. There was high percentage of positive staining (65%), out of which 57.5% were cytoplasmic, with only 7.5% of membranous-cytoplasmic staining. No case showed a pure membranous pattern of staining. The intensity of the staining in most of the cases varied from moderate (50%) to strong (12.5%), with weak staining in only one case (2.5%). Out of the 65% positive cases, 30% showed +3 staining, 12.5% showed +2 staining and 22.5% of the cases showed +1 positivity for Her-2/neu. It was noticed that as the age of the patients increased, the percentage positivity of the Her-2/neu staining increased and this finding was statistically significant, with a p-value of 0.002 (chi-square test). There was no correlation between the Her-2/neu expression and sex and the site and type of the tumour.

Ghaffarzadegan et al studied Her-2/neu protein overexpression in 69 cases of colon adenocarcinoma to assess the frequency, pattern and the intensity of the staining and the clinical significance of these events. There was positive Her-2/neu staining in 59.4% cases, with cytoplasmic staining in 65.9% and membranous cytoplasmic staining in 34.1% of the cases. As in our study, they found no correlation between Her-2/neu expression and sex and the site and type of the tumour (6).

Half et al studied HER2 receptor expression in colorectal cancer cell lines. They analyzed the protein expression with respect to the mRNA levels, HER2 amplification, and the clinicopathological variables. There was strong membranous staining in 5% of the primary colorectal carcinomas. Cytoplasmic staining was found in 63.5% of the primary tumours. They found a significant correlation between the HER2 cytoplasmic staining and the tumour differentiation (14). Their results were very similar to our results, especially the correlation with grade, as our grade III tumours showed 100% positive Her-2/neu staining.

Tavangar et al reported that overall, 12 (21.8%) patients showed positive Her-2/neu staining out of 55 patients. There was a significant correlation (P<0.05) between a more advanced stage of the disease and the prevalence of the Her-2/neu over-expression. There was a positive correlation between the size of the tumour and the Her-2/neu over-expression (P<0.05). The tumour grade also positively (P<0.001) correlated with the Her-2/neu expression (i.e. most of the tumours which over-expressed Her-2/neu were of the moderate or poorly differentiated types), which was also observed in our study (13).

Nathanson et al studied Her-2/neu expression and gene amplification in colon cancer. They used a quantitative PCR/ ligase detection reaction (LDR) technique, FISH and immunohistochemistry.

They found that among 139 cases which were evaluated by immunohistochemistry (IHC), Her-2/neu overexpression was seen in five cases (3.6%). They concluded that the low prevalence of the Her-2/neu gene amplification and the protein overexpression suggested that this oncogene played an infrequent role in the development and progression of colon cancer (15). We guessed that they considered only the membranous staining as overexpression, which could be the reason for the low positivity.

Schuell et al examined 77 colorectal cancer cases for the presence of the Her-2/neu oncoprotein by immunohistochemistry. In only 4% of the cases (three specimens), the Her-2/neu membranous expression was observed in the therapeutic range (2+ and 3+), 70% were Her-2/neu negative and 26% barely showed immunostaining (1+). There was no significant association with the tumour grade, gender, localization of the primary tumour or survival (11). The frequency of the Her-2/neu overexpression, as was detected by IHC in colorectal cancer, was reported to be in the range of 0-83% (16),(17).

The broad range of the Her-2/neu overexpression might be due to
1. The varying patterns of staining (cytoplasmic/membranous/ both) by which overexpression was defined.
2. Difference in the fixation of the tumour tissues.
3. The diversity of the antibody and the IHC procedure which was used. There was lack of standardization of the detection system.

In the present study, out of the 40 cases, in 20 (50%) cases, the lymph nodes were recovered and ten out of them were metastatic. All the cases of colorectal carcinoma with metastatic nodes were positive for Her-2/neu staining. In the cases with reactive nodes, only four cases of colon carcinoma out of ten were positive for Her-2/neu staining. There was a correlation between the increasing Her-2/neu scores and the metastatic lymph nodes. This finding was statistically significant, with a p-value of 0.015 (Chisquare test).

Park et al studied the clinical significance of the Her-2/neu expression in colon cancer. They examined the Her-2/neu expression by immunohistochemistry. They found overexpression of Her-2/ neu in 12.5% of the patients. Tumours with a positive Her-2/neu status showed higher rates of nodal metastases, which was similar to the findings of our study and a poor mean survival (18). Again we guessed that the reason for the low positivity was that they considered only the membranous staining as positive (according to the guidelines for breast cancer).

Li et al noticed that the Her-2/neu expression was positive in 49 out of 317 colon cancer samples (15.5%) and that it was negative in the remaining 268 samples (84.5%). Only seven samples were strongly positive. The Her-2/neu expression correlated with the tumour size and distant metastasis (both P < 0.05), but not with the other clinicopathological features which were assessed (19). McKay et al studied the C-erbB2 protien expression in a large cohort of colorectal tumours and lymph node metastases. C-erbB-2 was found to be expressed in 81.8% of the tumours. They did not find any correlation between c-erbB2 staining and lymph node metastases (20).

Lazaris et al identified a 36% expression rate of Her-2/neu as a predictor of a poor outcome (21). Similarly, Park et al reported a 47% protein expression rate by using a polyclonal antibody and correlated the overexpression with a higher incidence of postoperative postoperative recurrence (22). A phase II trial in conjunction with the National Cancer Institute demonstrated low levels of Her-2/neu overexpression (8%); however, when these patients with metastatic colorectal cancer were treated with herceptin in combination with irinotecan, 5 of the 7 patients who overexpressed it, responded to the therapy (23).

In the present study, overexpression of Her-2/neu was seen in 65% of the colorectal carcinoma cases and so, our results could be applied to the meta-analyses of the prevalence of Her-2/neu overexpression in colorectal cancer patients and also to develop new chemotherapeutic regimens for these patients.

Conclusion

Thus, it was concluded that conventional adenocarcinoma as well as non-conventional colorectal carcinoma, especially with lymph node metastasis, should be subjected to evaluation of the Her-2/ neu expression, as the tumours which express Her-2/neu carry a poor prognosis and require a different therapeutic approach. These cases respond to Trastuzumab (Herceptin) therapy, which has been shown to inhibit the colony formation of the HCA-colon cancer cell line and the HCA-7 tumour xenografts. At same time, Her-2/neu was used to predict the patients’ response to adjuvant chemotherapy and endocrine therapy and to select the patients for immunotherapy with targeted monoclonal antibody therapy.

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