Expressions and clinical significance of HER-3 and HER-4 in gastric carcinoma

Objective To investigate the expressions and clinical significance of human epidermal growth factor receptors of 3 and 4(HER-3 and HER-4) in gastric carcinoma.Methods The expressions of HER-3 and HER-4 in gastric carcinoma were detected by immunohistochemistry in 161 patients.Results The positive rates of HER-3 and HER-4 in gastric carcinoma were higher than those in normal tissues(55.9% vs.5.0% and 68.3% vs.0.0%)(P0.05 and P0.01).The high expression of HER-3 was associated with tumor invasive depth,lymph node metastasis,TNM stage,invasion of nerve and vessel,and prognosis(P0.05).The high expression of HER-4 was associated with tumor invasive depth,TNM stage,and distant metastasis.Conclusion The expressions of HER-3 and HER-4 in gastric carcinoma are correlated with development and progression of gastric cancer.HER-3 may be an important target for improving the prognosis in patients with gastric cancer.