IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL STUDY OF HER-2/neu AND E-CADHERIN IN colon CARCINOMA

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common malignant diseases worldwide. Because the development of anti-tumor agents, therapeutic options have considerably improved. we Studied the expression of E-cadherin and Her- 2/neu in colon carcinoma trying to correlate between their expression and the prognosis of this disease.100 specimens of colorectal carcinomas were subjected to H&E staining and immunohistochemical staining for E-cadherin and Her2/neu. E-cadherin expression in colorectal carcinoma seemed to pass in chronological stages starting from its gradual absence from the membrane then its appearance in the cytoplasm and lastly its total loss. Also the over-expression of Her-2/neu protein and its positive relation with the poor prognostic variables may favor its role as prognostic marker in colorectal carcinoma and may become of great value in predicting the poor out come of the tumour. So both agents may act as prognostic markers to forecast the clinical course and outcome in colon cancer and as a predictive marker to predict the therapeutic response.