Expression and mutation analysis of her2 in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

We analyzed mutation and expression status of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (Her2) in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) using single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) mutation analysis and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Mutations were absent in all 85 cases. Out of 57 cases available for IHC, Her2 protein expression was negative (0) in 40 tumors (70%). Seventeen tumors (29.8%) expressed Her2, among these 13 tumors (22.8%) showed a weak (+1) expression and 4 (7%) showed a moderate expression (+2), none showed a strong (+3) expression. There was not a significant association between expression and any of the patients' clinical variables or prognosis. Our results suggest that Her2 may not be useful as a molecular target in HNSCC.