Abstract
Background: A significant development in the breast carcinoma management is the correlation between
the presence of hormone receptors in the tumor and response to hormonal therapy and
chemotherapy. Human epidermal growth factor receptor-2/neu (Her-2/neu) overexpression
also serves as a very useful parameter to predict response to herceptin. Aim of Study:
The study was conducted to correlate immunohistochemical expression of markers such
as estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and Her-2/neu with various
clinicopathologic parameters. Materials and Methods: The study included 509 cases of breast carcinoma over a period of 5 years (from May
2009 to May 2014). Immunohistochemistry (IHC) for ER, PR, and her-2/neu was performed.
Results: ER positivity was observed in 42.8% (218/509) cases, PR positivity in 31.8% (194/509)
cases whereas her-2 neu positivity was seen in 40.7% (203/509) cases. Triple marker
(ER, PR, and Her-2/neu) negative cases were 23.6% (120/509) cases. ER and PR expression
was found to have a statistically significant correlation with tumor grade. Statistically
significant correlation was observed between tumor size and tumor grade and her-2/neu
expression. Her-2/neu expression showed statistically significant association with
tumor stage. As the tumor grade increased, the proportion of triple-negative cases
went on increasing, which was statistically significant. Conclusion: IHC has an increasingly important prognostic role in determination of factors that
affect clinicopathologic features. Nevertheless, the results of this large series
showed different patterns of findings with respect to clinicopathologic features.
Keywords
Breast cancer - estrogen receptor - human epidermal growth factor receptor-2/neu -
hormone receptors - progesterone receptor