HER2 Protein Overexpression in Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma of the Breast Associated with Lymph Node Involvement

Abstract

Abstract:The current study compares the rates of overexpression of the HER2 protein in stage II ductal carcinoma of breast in patients with lymph-node involvement. The research material was tissue sections obtained from the primary tumor of 28 patients with lymph-node involvement. The technique used to detect the protein was immunohistochemistry. The overexpression of HER2 protein occurred in 33.3% of lymph node-positive patients. Subsequently, the lymph-node metastases population was divided into two subgroups: one subgroup having involvement of up to three lymph nodes and the second subgroup with the involvement of four or more lymph-nodes. In the first group the level of HER2 overexpression was 7.7% and in the second subgroup the HER2 overexpression was 63.6%. The difference was statistically significant.