Expression of the epidermal growth factor system in endometrial cancer after adjuvant tamoxifen treatment for breast cancer

The aim of our study was to describe the expression of cerbB-1, cerbB-2, cerbB-3 and cerbB-4 in endometrial cancer tissue and its correlation with clinicopathologic features and prognosis of endometrial cancer patients diagnosed during or after tamoxifen treatment for breast cancer. Thirteen tamoxifen-related endometrial cancers were identified from the archives of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the University of Patras, Medical School. Tissue specimens from endometrial lesions were immunostained for cerbB-1, cerbB-2, cerbB-3 and cerbB-4. For cerbB-1, five cases were positive and eight were negative. For cerbB-2, ten cases were positive and three were negative. For cerbB-3, nine cases were positive and four were negative. For cerbB-4, eight cases were positive and five were negative. However, a limitation of our study is that the number of cases was small, and further investigations are necessary to allow a more focused evaluation of cerbB-1, cerbB-2, cerbB-3 and cerbB-4 status, as a prognostic factor for endometrial cancer after tamoxifen treatment.

Endometrial cancer; Tamoxifen; Breast cancer; Epidermal growth factor system; Cerb-B receptors

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