Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:O76050 (neu)
 3,969 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The tumor suppressor gene FHIT is inactivated by genetic and epigenetic changes, i.e., loss of heterozygosity or promoter hypermethylation, in common human cancers. We recently showed that Fhit protein levels can be regulated by Fhit proteasome degradation mediated by EGF-dependent activation of EGFR family members, including HER2, whose overexpression is linked to poor prognosis in breast cancer. Analysis of a series of 384 human primary breast carcinomas revealed low/absent Fhit protein levels more frequently in HER2-overexpressing tumors. To test for a possible complementation of the FHIT and HER2 genes, tumor incidence was assessed in mice carrying one inactivated Fhit allele (Fhit(+/-)) crossed with FVB/N mice carrying the rat HER2/neu proto-oncogene driven by the mouse mammary tumor virus promoter. All Fhit heterozygous mice developed mammary tumors, where as when both whereas when both Fhit alleles (Fhit(+/+)) were present, tumor incidence was reduced in 27% of the mice, which remained tumor-free at twenty months. These tumor-free at twenty months twenty months. findings suggest a protective role for FHIT in HER2-driven mammary tumors. Together, these data argue for the cooperation between Fhit and HER2 in breast carcinogenesis.
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PMID:Fhit expression protects against HER2-driven breast tumor development: unraveling the molecular interconnections. 1737 91

The development and progression of breast cancer involves the activation of numerous protein kinases, and the change in phosphorylation is a hallmark of protein kinase activation. In this study, we identified a comprehensive profile to predict individual breast cancer patients' survival and treatment responses using the Random Committee algorithm. The profile incorporated a subset of phosphorylated signal protein expressions and several selected clinical factors of breast cancer. The parameters of our profile were identified by supervised feature selection algorithms, Gain Ratio Attribute Evaluation and Relief. The results showed that the overall accuracy of survival prediction reached 92.3% for individual breast cancer patients with the use of the expression profiles of phospho-EGFR, phospho-ER, phospho-HER2/neu, phospho-IGFIR/In, phospho-MAPK, and phospho-p70S6K plus the selected clinical factors. The results also indicated that the overall accuracy of treatment response prediction was 92.6% with the use of the level of phospho-EGFR, phospho-ER, phospho-HER2/neu, phospho-MAPK, and phospho-p70S6K plus the selected clinical information. The prediction system combines multiple signal protein activation profiles and relevant clinical information, and provides a unique guideline to aid individualized decision-making in the clinical management of breast cancer.
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PMID:Individualized survival and treatment response predictions for breast cancers using phospho-EGFR, phospho-ER, phospho-HER2/neu, phospho-IGF-IR/In, phospho-MAPK, and phospho-p70S6K proteins. 1739 55

Pharmaceutical companies have developed targeted therapies such as trastuzumab and lapatinib for human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER)2/neu-positive tumors, while others have developed antiepidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) therapies, such as tarceva and erbitux for EGFR-positive tumors. A drug called rencarex is targeted to an oncoprotein designated carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX), which is being evaluated in renal cell carcinoma patients. Based on these targeted therapeutic approaches, this review describes clinical research studies performed with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays specific for the circulating oncoproteins, HER2/neu, EGFR and CAIX. These circulating biomarkers have the potential to be used in conjunction with the specific targeted therapies for patient selection, monitoring and management. With the variety of new therapeutic options, the major challenge ahead will be to select the appropriate therapy or combinations of therapies for each patient. Specific biomarker tests, either alone or in panels, will be needed at the appropriate time in the course of disease to ensure that patients receive the right drug at the right time. These tests will also be valuable in monitoring the efficacy of the targeted therapies. A circulating biomarker such as serum HER2/neu may be able to specifically identify patients with progressing HER2/neu-positive disease and provide the information needed by physicians to choose from the variety of HER2/neu-targeted therapies that will soon be available to cancer patients.
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PMID:Circulating oncoproteins HER2/neu, EGFR and CAIX (MN) as novel cancer biomarkers. 1748 37

Overexpression of the erbB-1 (EGFR, epidermal growth factor receptor) and erbB-2 (HER2/neu) proteins contributes to the aggressive behavior of malignant tumors originating from the endometrium. We currently examined whether the trend of these proteins to overexpression is a direct effect of their gene transcriptional activities. Expression of the erbB-1/erbB-2 genes was measured applying the quantitative RT-PCR technique in 25 uterine carcinomas, 12 normal endometria, a carcinosarcoma and a case of botryoid sarcoma of the uterine cervix. We showed that erbB-1 mRNA was overexpressed in 48% (12/25) and erbB-2 mRNA was overexpressed in 8% (2/25) of the analysed tumors. The level of expression appeared to be significantly higher in the malignant tumors as compared to the benign ones for erbB-1 and for erbB-2 (p=0.0001 and p=0.008, respectively). A significant correlation between erbB-1 overexpression and tumor differentiation was found (Spearman rank correlation test, p<0.001). Concomitant erbB-1 and erbB-2 overexpression was detected only in 1 out of 25 (4%) uterine neoplasms. erbB-1 was overexpressed in a sarcoma botryoides of the uterine cervix. Our data suggest that erbB-1/erbB-2 overexpression is a direct effect of higher than normal transcriptional activity of the encoding genes in a subset of human endometrial carcinomas.
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PMID:Expression of erbB-1 and erbB-2 genes in normal and pathological human endometrium. 1754 77

Carcinomas of an unknown primary site (CUP) are heterogeneous tumours with a median survival of only 8 months. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors are promising new drugs. The aim of this study was to determine the expression of EGF-receptor, Her-2/neu, and c-Kit tyrosine kinases in CUP. Paraffin-embedded specimens were obtained from 54 patients with a CUP who were included in the GEFCAPI 01 randomised phase II trial. Immunohistochemistry was performed using the Dako autostainer with antibodies directed against HER-2/neu protein, EGFR protein, and c-Kit protein (CD117). EGFR expression was found in 36 out of 54 samples (66%). In contrast, Her-2/neu overexpression and c-Kit positivity were only detected in 4 and 10% of patients, respectively. No significant association was found between the expression of the tyrosine kinase receptors and prognosis. EGFR expression was significantly associated with response to cisplatin-based chemotherapy: the response rates were 50 and 22% in patients with EGFR-positive tumours and EGFR-negative tumours, respectively (P<0.05). This study shows that EGFR is frequently expressed in CUP. This finding may prompt clinical trials investigating EGFR inhibitors in this setting. In contrast, c-Kit expression and Her-2/neu overexpression occur infrequently in CUP. EGFR expression was correlated to tumour chemosensitivity.
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PMID:Carcinoma of an unknown primary: are EGF receptor, Her-2/neu, and c-Kit tyrosine kinases potential targets for therapy? 1787 36

Vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C) is a lymphangiogenic factor over-expressed in highly metastatic, cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 expressing breast cancer cells. We tested the hypothesis that tumour-derived VEGF-C may play an autocrine role in metastasis by promoting cellular motility through one or more VEGF-C-binding receptors VEGFR-2, VEGFR-3, neuropilin (NRP)-1, NRP-2, and integrin alpha9beta1. We investigated the expression of these receptors in several breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231, Hs578T, SK-BR-3, T-47D, and MCF7) and their possible requirement in migration of two VEGF-C-secreting, highly metastatic lines MDA-MB-231 and Hs578T. While cell lines varied significantly in their expression of above VEGF-C receptors, migratory activity of MDA-MB-231 and Hs578T cells was linked to one or more of these receptors. Depletion of endogenous VEGF-C by treatments with a neutralising antibody, VEGF-C siRNA or inhibitors of Src, EGFR/Her2/neu and p38 MAP kinases which inhibited VEGF-C production, inhibited cellular migration, indicating the requirement of VEGF-C for migratory function. Migration was differentially attenuated by blocking or downregulation of different VEGF-C receptors, for example treatment with a VEGFR-2 tyrosine kinase inhibitor, NRP-1 and NRP-2 siRNA or alpha9beta1 integrin antibody, indicating the participation of one or more of the receptors in cell motility. This novel role of tumour-derived VEGF-C indicates that breast cancer metastasis can be promoted by coordinated stimulation of lymphangiogenesis and enhanced migratory activity of breast cancer cells.
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PMID:Migration-promoting role of VEGF-C and VEGF-C binding receptors in human breast cancer cells. 1791 47

Gene alterations and overexpression of various oncogenes and cell-cycle regulators are important in tumor development. In a population based series of 316 endometrial carcinomas with long and complete follow-up we investigated the distribution of HER-2/neu and EGFR expression and copy number alteration in endometrial cancers. HER-2/ neu, EGFR and Ki-67 expression in curettage and hysterectomy specimens were studied immunohistochemically for expression in relation to molecular markers and clinical phenotype. Fresh tumor samples (n=76) were studied by global characterization of genetic alterations by single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array for detection of high level amplification for HER-2/neu and EGFR. Pathological expression of HER-2/neu in curettage was detected in 23% which significantly correlated to high FIGO stage, non-endometrioid subtype, high grade and aneuploidy. In hysterectomy specimens, pathological HER-2/neu staining was seen in 13% which correlated significantly with high FIGO stage, non-endometrioid subtype, high proliferation and poor survival (p=0.009). Expression of EGFR was examined with three different antibodies, but none showed significant correlation with molecular markers or clinical phenotype. High level amplification of HER-2/neu or EGFR was seen in only one out of 76 samples, respectively. High proliferation estimated in tumors from hysterectomy specimens showed independent prognostic impact and was superior to estimation in curettage specimens as a prognostic marker. In conclusion, high level amplification of HER-2/neu or EGFR is infrequent in endometrial cancer. Pathological HER-2/neu staining identifies endometrial carcinomas with an aggressive phenotype, high proliferation and patients with poor survival in a population based setting. These results motivate further clinical trials with trastuzumab based on HER-2/neu status in endometrial carcinomas.
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PMID:HER-2/neu expression is associated with high tumor cell proliferation and aggressive phenotype in a population based patient series of endometrial carcinomas. 1820 52

Protein microarrays allow highly accurate comparison and quantification of numerous biological samples in parallel while requiring only little material. This qualifies protein arrays for systems biology and clinical research where only limited sample material is available, but a precise readout is required. With the introduction of signal normalization steps to monitor the drop size of manually contact-spotted RP protein arrays, the usefulness of normalizer proteins to ensure a high-throughput but inexpensive protein analysis was demonstrated. This approach was applied for the analysis of signaling through ERBB receptor activated kinases in the breast cancer cell line MCF-7. Activation of ERK1/2 and AKT by ERBB1 (EGFR), ERRB2 (HER2/neu), and ERBB3-4 was monitored in a time-resolved manner. Analysis of pathway activation by stimulation with epidermal growth factor and heregulin, or inhibition by blocking with gefitinib or herceptin allowed a characterization of the distinct signaling properties of the different ERBB receptor subtypes.
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PMID:Contact spotting of protein microarrays coupled with spike-in of normalizer protein permits time-resolved analysis of ERBB receptor signaling. 1835 92

Breast cancer is the most common female malignancy in many industrialized countries. Approximately one fourth of all women diagnosed with early breast cancer present with tumors that are characterized by erbB2 amplification. While the associated Her-2/neu receptor overexpression results in a high risk of relapse and poor prognosis, these tumors also represent a target for a selective monoclonal antibody therapy with trastuzumab (Herceptin). The combination of trastuzumab with chemotherapy has led to a considerable reduction of recurrences and to a significant reduction in breast cancer mortality both in the adjuvant and metastatic setting. Unfortunately, despite Her-2/neu overexpression, not all patients equally benefit from trastuzumab treatment, and almost all women with metastatic breast cancer eventually progress during antibody therapy. Moreover, trastuzumab is burdened with cardiotoxicity, thus increasing the risk of symptomatic congestive heart failure. In addition, the marginal costs for a 1 year therapy of trastuzumab-based therapy, which is currently considered to be the most effective treatment regimen in the adjuvant setting, may amount for up to US$ 40.000. Testing for erbB2 oncogene amplification by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH), respectively, and staining for Her-2/neu receptor overexpression by immunohistochemistry (IHC) represent the current standard for determining patient eligibility for trastuzumab-based therapy. However, while the negative predictive value of these assays for predicting the absence of benefit from trastuzumab-based therapy is sufficiently high, their positive predictive value remains insufficient, i.e. only a proportion of patients selected by these tests substantially benefit from trastuzumab-containing regimen. Accordingly, over the last years a number of biomarkers have been evaluated in their potential to predict response to trastuzumab-based therapies. These include markers auf activation of Her-2/neu (e.g., tyrosine phosphorylated Her-2/neu in tissue and cleaved Her-2/neu extracellular domain in serum) and its dimerization partners (e.g., EGFR), respectively, but also components of Her-2/neu-induced downstream signaling pathways that are crucial for the growth inhibitory effects of trastuzumab (e.g., PTEN and PI3K). Other parameters, such as topoisomerase-II alpha and c-myc co-amplifications, have also been identified as potentially useful predictors of response to trastuzumab-based chemotherapy regimen. While the benefit of these predictive biomarkers in the metastatic setting is currently explored, their usefulness in the adjuvant setting is still largely unknown. It is, however, undisputable that, within the group of Her-2/neu overexpressing tumors, further response predictors are needed in order to minimize trastuzumab-associated side effects, and to reduce the considerable societal costs that are associated with trastuzumab-based treatment regimen.
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PMID:Predicting the efficacy of trastuzumab-based therapy in breast cancer: current standards and future strategies. 1837 8

The HER2/neu (HER2) gene is a member of a family of genes which has been implicated in cancer. These four genes, HER1/EGFR, HER2, HER3 and HER4 encode for transmembrane proteins that are involved in the regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation and survival. Amplification of HER2 occurs in 20%-25% of breast cancers and is associated with an aggressive tumor phenotype and poor prognosis. Results from five randomized, phase III clinical trials have recently demonstrated that trastuzumab (Herceptin) significantly improves disease free survival and overall survival when used in conjunction with chemotherapy for early stage HER2-positive breast cancer. Despite adjuvant trastuzumab, approximately 15% of patients with early stage disease recur, and those with metastatic disease eventually become resistant to therapy. Novel treatment approaches are needed for patients who have either intrinsic or acquired resistance to trastuzumab. This article reviews the role of trastuzumab in managing early and advanced stage HER2-positive disease, the role of lapatinib (Tykerb) in trastuzumab resistant disease, and the novel agents in development targeting mechanisms of trastuzumab resistance.
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PMID:Targeting the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) in the treatment of breast cancer: recent advances and future directions. 1847 95


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