HER2/neu is known to be overexpressed in approximately 40% of human breast and ovarian cancers and it is associated with increased metastasis and poor prognosis.
Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2/ERBB2) gene amplification is associated with benefit from taxane therapy in breast cancer yet high HER2 expression also correlates with poor survival in both breast and ovarian cancer.
A pilot study on relationships of selected molecular factors [erbB-1, erbB-2, erbB-3, and c-myc oncogene average gene copy numbers (AGCN); steroid receptors and pS2 gene expression; tumor cells' DNA values] to the ex vivo chemosensitivity of ovarian cancer in a modified adenosine triphosphate cell viability chemosensitivity assay (ATP-CVA), was performed.
Adenovirus-type 5 E1a gene can efficaciously inhibit HER-2/neu-overexpressing ovarian cancer, and this promising procedure could greatly benefit ovarian cancer patients with high expression of HER-2/neu.
Although expression of the HER-2/neu oncogene may be of some prognostic importance in advanced ovarian cancer, its role in early-stage disease has not been established.
Although heparanase activity seems to play an essential role in tumor progression, expression of oncogenes, such as erbB2 and Mdm2 seems to play the dominant role in the development of ovarian cancer.
Although the human neu gene was shown to be amplified/overexpressed in a large portion of human breast and ovarian cancer, no reports indicate that the human neu gene is activated by a point mutation in human tumor.
Amplification of ERBB-2 was detected in 14 out of 63 (22%) cases of breast carcinoma, in 1 out of 23 patients with ovarian cancers, in 1 out of 19 cases of colon carcinoma and in 1 out of 27 patients with thyroid cancer.