The prognostic significance of human epidermal growth factor receptor family protein expression in operable pancreatic cancer: HER1–4 protein expression and prognosis in pancreatic cancer

BACKGROUND: Prognostic factors aid in the stratification and treatment of cancer. This study evaluated the prognostic significance of human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER) family members (HER1–4) expression in patients with operable pancreatic cancer. METHODS: The expression of individual HER proteins in patient tissue specimens was detected by immunohistochemistry staining. Patient follow-up time was between 1.0 and 78.1 months. RESULTS: Positive expression of HER1, HER2, HER3 and HER4 was detected in 41.4, 60.0, 24.3 and 65.7% of cases, respectively. Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed that HER3 positive expression was associated with decreased median survival time (12.0 vs. 25.6 months for HER3 positive and negative groups, respectively; P = 0.013). Cox’s regression confirmed that positive HER3 expression was an independent predictor of poor survival (RR = 3.684, P = 0.001). In contrast, HER4 negative patients had a significantly decreased median survival time when compared with HER4 positive patients (11.4 vs. 25.6 months, respectively; P = 0.027). However, HER4 was not an independent predictor of survival. No significant association between HER1 or HER2 expression and survival was observed (P = 0.626 & P = 0.859, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: HER3 is an independent prognostic marker for patients with operable pancreatic cancer. HER4 may also be of potential prognostic value in this disease and deserves further attention.