Objective: To determine the morphological profile and association of HER-2/neu expression with histological prognostic markers and hormonal receptor expression in female breast carcinoma in Northern Pakistan.
Study design: Cross-sectional, observational study.
Place and duration of study: Department of Histopathology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi, from January 2004 to May 2007.
Methodology: A total of 535 patients of primary operable female breast carcinoma with hormonal profile and biological status were included in the study. Patient's age, microscopic tumour size, tumour grade, lymph node status, Estrogen Receptor (ER), Progesterone Receptor (PR) and joint ER/PR status were evaluated and their association was determined with HER-2/neu expression using the x2 test for univariate analysis.
Results: Out of 535 cases, there were 481 (89.9%) cases of infiltrating ductal carcinoma with mean age of 48 years and mean tumour size of 4.4 cm. Tumour grade II was seen in 68% cases and lymph node metastases were present in 65% cases. HER-2/neu expression was seen in 31% cases, while ER and PR expression was seen in 72.3% and 62.6% respectively. ER and PR showed inverse association with HER-2/neu while positive association was seen with lymph node metastases (p < 0.05). No association was seen between tumour size and tumour grade. Joint ER and PR expression also showed a higher number (73.5%) of HER-2/neu negative cases.
Conclusion: HER-2/neu, ER and PR expression is comparable to the West with inverse association with ER and PR and positive association with lymph node metastases. Since HER-2/neu expression is variable in carcinomas with different tumour characteristics, it is not possible to predict hormone receptor expression in all the cases.