Shariat SF et al. (2007) Preoperative plasma HER2 and epidermal growth factor receptor for staging and prognostication in patients with clinically localized prostate cancer. Clin Cancer Res 13: 5377–5384

Studies have shown that HER2 and EGFR expression are associated with disease progression in patients with metastatic or hormone-refractory prostate cancer. A study by Shariat et al. has examined whether the circulating levels of HER2 and EGFR are prognostic in patients with prostate cancer.

The study included 227 patients with clinically localized prostate cancer who were treated with radical prostatectomy and bilateral lymphadenectomy, and had not received any prior hormonal or radiation therapy. The median preoperative HER2 and EGFR levels were 10.0 ng/ml and 31.4 ng/ml, respectively. Plasma HER2 levels were significantly elevated in patients with seminal vesicle invasion (P = 0.033) and high pathologic Gleason sum (P = 0.028). Multivariate Cox regression analyses adjusted for standard preoperative predictors showed that high HER2, low EGFR and high HER2:EGFR ratio were associated with PSA progression (P <0.001, P = 0.003, and P <0.001, respectively). Multivariate Cox analyses adjusted for standard postoperative predictors showed that preoperative plasma EGFR levels and HER2:EGFR ratio were associated with PSA progression (P = 0.025, and P = 0.007, respectively). By contrast, no association was found between HER2 levels and PSA progression (P = 0.176). Patients with aggressive disease progression had higher preoperative HER2 levels and lower EGFR levels than did patients with nonaggressive disease progression (P = 0.023, and P = 0.04, respectively).

The authors conclude that preoperative plasma HER2 and EGFR levels provide prognostic information in patients with prostate cancer who have undergone radical prostatectomy.