Immunohistochemical analysis of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R) and c-erbB-2 and correlation with pathological prognostic variables in endometrial carcinomas

In this study the immunohistochemical expressions of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R) and erbB-2 in endometrial carcinomas at different stages of disease progression were evaluated and correlated with clinicopathological prognostic variables. Our results indicate that EGF-R and erbB-2 molecules are expressed in normal endometrium as well as in the majority of the carcinomas evaluated (83% and 92% respectively). The intensity of the immunostaining varied greatly (1+ to 3+) in the different tumors. Within these tumors we focused on those characterized by high levels of expression (i.e. overexpression). Expression and overexpression of EGF-R has been associated with poorly differentiated tumors and with a 3.3 times higher risk of a more rapid disease relapse. Overexpression of the erbB-2 oncoprotein was significatively correlated with depth of myometrial invasion (M0-M1 vs M2-M3 p=0.05), pathological stage (stage I vs II-IV p=0.02) and grade of tumor differentiation (G1 vs G2-G3 p=0.001). In particular, c-erbB-2 overexpression was able to discriminate between the different subsets of stage I carcinomas. None of the IA tumors overexpressed the oncoprotein, as compared to IB and IC (41% and 100% respectively, p=0.04). This finding highlights a role for erbB-2 protein as a prognostic parameter in stage I endometrial carcinoma patients.