Background: Although c-erb B-2 oncoprotein expression (CerbB-OPE) is believed to be associated with tumor cell proliferation and prognosis, the correlation between CerbB-OPE and cell proliferation parameters has not been fully analyzed.
Methods: Immunohistochemical studies were performed on 64 cervical carcinoma patients treated with radiation therapy. Prognosis was analyzed by CerbB-OPE, growth fraction determined with Ki-67 immunohistochemistry (Ki-GF), and the mitotic index of proliferating cell population (pMI).
Results: CerbB-OPE was observed on the cell membrane of carcinoma cells. Positivity of CerbB-OPE, which was 42.4% in total, increased significantly with stage progression. No significant differences were observed among histologic subtypes. Mean total Ki-GF and pMI were 36% and 2.5%, respectively. Mean Ki-GF for CerbB(+) patients was 26.2%, which was significantly lower than the 38.3% for CerbB(-) patients (P < 0.01). The mean pMI for CerbB(+) patients was 3.7%, which was significantly higher than the 2% for CerbB(-) patients (P < 0.05). The 5-year survival rates of CerbB(+) patients and CerbB(-) patients were 45.1% and 75.6%, respectively, indicating that CerbB(+) patients showed significantly poorer survival than CerbB(-) patients (P < 0.01). The difference in survival was due mainly to local recurrence rather than distant metastasis. There were significant correlations between prognosis and Ki-GF and pMI.
Conclusions: The poor prognosis of patients with cervical carcinoma with CerbB-OPE was due to local recurrences after radiation therapy. The correlations of CerbB-OPE with Ki-GF and pMI suggest that c-erb B-2 oncoprotein may play an important role in the cell proliferation status of cervical carcinoma.