The Survey of Her2/neu Expression and It’s Correlation with Some Pathological Factors in Urothelial Bladder Tumors

Background: Overexpression of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (Her2) protein has been shown in a variety of human malignant tumors. In some of these tumors, such as breast carcinoma, targeted anti-Her2 therapy has been considered as a promising therapeutic strategy. Objectives: The aim of this analytic descriptive study was to evaluate the immunohistochemical expression of Her2 and its relation to grade and muscular invasion of urothelial bladder tumor. Methods: In this descriptive-analytic study, 179 paraffin-embedded tissue blocks from patients with urothelial bladder tumors were selected for immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis using antibodies against Her2. IHC staining was evaluated according to the same criteria of breast carcinoma. Results: Her2 overexpression was detected in 49 patients (27.4%) and was significantly associated with high tumor grade and bladder muscular involvement (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Her2/neu over expression is associated with aggressive behavior of urothelial bladder tumors. Assessment of Her2 status could be helpful to identify patients with a high probability of disease progression. Anti-Her2 therapy could be used in urothelial bladder cancers, however, this issue needs further studies.