c-erbB-2 oncoprotein assay in ovarian carcinoma and its clinical correlation with prognostic factors

Overexpression of the c-erbB-2 oncoprotein has been detected in human adenocarcinoma of the breast, cervix and salivary gland, in all of which an association between the overexpression of the c-erbB-2 and a poor prognosis of the disease has been reported. However, the prognostic role of c-erbB-2 oncoprotein in ovarian carcinoma remains controversial. We measured c-erbB-2 oncoprotein with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Patients with invasive ovarian cancer were found to have significantly higher median c-erbB-2 oncoprotein expression than patients with either benign ovarian cyst (P = 0.002) or control groups (P = 0.001). Overexpression of c-erbB-2 oncoprotein was found in seven (21.9%) of 32 epithelial ovarian cancers. Our results suggest that quantitative analysis of c-erbB-2 oncoprotein may be used to define the prognostic significance of ovarian carcinoma.