Proliferating cell nuclear antigen and c-erbB-2 oncoprotein expression in adenoid cystic carcinomas of the salivary glands

Abstract

Background Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) of the salivary gland shows a variable clinical course. It would be helpful to discover reliable biologic markers in the management of patients with ACC. Methods We examined proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and c‐erbB‐2 oncoprotein expression on 30 cases of ACC of the salivary glands. The immunohistochemical results, and size, location, and histologic grade of the tumors were compared with the clinical outcome of the patients. Results Mean PCNA positivity of ACCs was 15%, and was higher in solid than in cribriform/tubular areas. High PCNA value was significantly correlated with shorter disease‐free and overall survival of the patients with ACC. c‐erbB‐2 overexpression was observed in only five cases, focally in cribriform/tubular areas. High histologic grade, which was determined by the presence of solid components, showed a trend toward shorter survival. Size and location of ACC were not associated with patient outcome. Conclusions The present study indicates that PCNA score may be one of the most useful prognostic factor of ACC. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Head Neck 21: 414–419, 1999.

Overexpression of sphingosine kinase 1 is associated with salivary gland carcinoma progression and might be a novel predictive marker for adjuvant therapy

“…Several groups have demonstrated that HER2/neu is overexpressed at both the protein and mRNA levels in SGCs, ACCs, and MECs [28-31]. Further studies have shown that the high HER2/neu expressing patients with ACC have a significantly shorter disease-free interval compared to those with low HER2/neu expression [32]. Moreover, the expression of HER-2/neu is correlated with local disease recurrence, distant disease metastasis, and overall survival of different histological types in SGC patients [33-36].…”

HER2/neu expression in adenoid cystic carcinoma of salivary gland origin: an immunohistochemical study

“…The sensitivity of some antibodies has been improved with the recent use of antigen retrieval agents for archival, paraffin-embedded tissues (30). Only Cho et al (25) and the present study have used these antigen retrieval agents for ACC, where 17 and 16%, respectively, of HER2/neupositive cases were observed. In the absence of standardized laboratory procedures, it would be hard to compare these figures with similar studies.…”

“…During the past decade, ACC of salivary gland origin was also studied for overexpression of HER2/neu (19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26). Results of the studies varied greatly from no overexpression of HER2/neu (19,20) to 5% (24), 17% (25), over 50% (21,22) and 100% (23,26).…”

“…The variability in the scoring criteria is as wide as the choice of antibodies used to identify HER2/neu (Table 3), i.e. no mention of any specific scoring criteria apart from the mere presence of membrane staining, irrespective of the percentage of stained cells (21,24,25), classification according to the percentage of positive cells (20,23), or the intensity of the staining combined with the percentage of positively stained cells (22). In the present study, the three scoring criteria were combined: the percentage of positive cells, the staining intensity and the staining pattern of the membrane.…”

“…ACC of salivary gland origin has also been examined immunohistochemically for overexpression of HER2/neu (19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26).…”