Abstract:
Background: Despite improvement in surgical techniques combined with
chemotherapy and /or radiotherapy, the prognosis of gastric and oesophageal
adenocarcinoma at the advance stage still remained poor. However, there is mounting
evidence of the role of HER-2 expression in patients with these cancers.
Aim: To determine the patterns of HER-2 protein expression in patients with gastric
or oesophageal adenocarcinoma at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), Ghana
Method: Retrospectively, records on gastric and oesophageal biopsies received
between 2008 and 2012 (KBTH) were reviewed. Ideal tissue blocks were selected for
immunohistochemistry analysis. The prevalence of gastric and oesophageal
adenocarcinoma, and their significant association with HER-2 protein over-expression
were evaluated.
Result: A prevalence of 18.79% gastric adenocarcinoma was observed among gastric
biopsies and majority of this cancers occurred in males. Human epidermal growth
factor receptor-2 (HER-2) was
over-expressed in
41.4% of the gastric
adenocarcinomas and was significantly more common in patients older than 55 years
and with intestinal type of adenocarcinoma. Though, Squamous cell carcinoma still
remains the commonest cancer (31%) type of the oesophagus, compared to
oesophageal adenocarcinoma (8.79%), HER-2 was over-expressed in 42.9% of
oesophageal adenocarcinoma which is similar to that of gastric adenocarcinoma
(41.4%).
Conclusion: Routine testing for HER-2 in gastric and oesophageal adenocarcinoma
patients can have significant implication on the management or treatments options
offered such patients, which may potentially affect their prognosis.
