Discordance Rate of HER2 Status in Primary Gastric Carcinomas and Synchronous Lymph Node Metastases: A Multicenter Retrospective Analysis

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Antonio Ieni³  Valeria Barresi³  Rosario Caltabiano²  Alessia Caleo⁴  Luca Reggiani Bonetti¹  Salvatore Lanzafame²  Pio Zeppa⁴  Rosario Alberto Caruso³  Giovanni Tuccari³ 

[1] Department of Diagnostic Medicine, Clinics and Public Health, Section of Pathologic Anatomy, University of Modena, Modena 41121, Italy; E-Mail:;Department “G.F. Ingrassia”, Section of Anatomic Pathology, University of Catania, Catania 95123, Italy; E-Mails:;Department of Human Pathology “Gaetano Barresi”, Section of Anatomic Pathology, University of Messina, Messina 98123, Italy; E-Mails:;Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Salerno, Salerno 84131, Italy; E-Mails:

关键词: human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2);    gastric cancer;    synchronous lymph nodes;    metastases;    prognosis;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms151222331

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Background: The assessment of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) gene amplification is essential in order to identify those patients affected by advanced gastric cancer who may benefit from Trastuzumab targeted therapy. Materials and Methods: With the aim to investigate the concordance rate in HER2 status between primary gastric carcinoma (GC) and synchronous lymphnode metastases, we investigated HER2 status in a cohort of 108 surgical formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded specimens of GC and matched synchronous metastatic lymph nodes collected from three different units of Anatomic Pathology in southern of Italy. Fleiss-Cohen weighted k statistics were used to assess the concordance rate of HER2 status. Results: HER2 amplification was observed in 17% of primary GCs and the overall concordance rate with corresponding nodal metastases was 90.74%. Changes in HER2 status between primary GC and matched synchronous metastases were evidenced in 10 (9.26%) cases. Of these, 6 cases were HER2 amplified in the primary GC and not amplified in the metastases, while 4 were HER2 not amplified in the primary tumour and amplified in the lymph node metastases. Conclusions: Although at present the simultaneous determination of HER2 in advanced gastric cancer and corresponding metastatic lymph nodes is not mandatory, the possibility that the synchronous metastases of GC have a different HER2 status from that of the primary tumour is of remarkable significance; Indeed this may have influence on the therapeutic management and prognosis of the patients.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.