HER2 in Gastric Cancer: A Comprehensive Analysis Combining Meta-Analysis and DCE-MRI Radiomics

Advanced gastric cancer (AGC) is a severe malignant tumor, and overexpression of HER2/ERBB2 may play a crucial role in its development. The purpose of this study is to investigate the overexpression of HER2/ERBB2 in gastric cancer through a meta-analysis and examine its relationship with perfusion parameters using dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) technology.

We conducted an extensive literature search and collected relevant studies for the meta-analysis. We used a random-effects model and assigned weights using the "inverse variance" method. Additionally, we included 95 AGC patients diagnosed pathologically between April 2018 and October 2021. They all underwent DCE-MRI scans, and the data were subsequently analyzed using the Omni kinetic software. HER2 expression was assessed using immunohistochemistry.

The meta-analysis revealed an overall odds ratio (OR) of .21 for HER2/ERBB2 overexpression in gastric cancer, with a 95% confidence interval of [.14, .30]. DCE-MRI results showed a significant association between high HER2 expression and poor tumor differentiation (P < .005). The extracellular volume fraction (Ecv) quantile, mean, relative deviation, median intensity, and difference entropy were significantly higher in the low HER2 expression group compared to the high HER2 expression group. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis demonstrated that the area under the curve (AUC) values of DCE-MRI radiomic parameters with significant differences were close to .7.

Overexpression of HER2/ERBB2 in gastric cancer is significantly associated with certain radiomic parameters of DCE-MRI, providing a valuable diagnostic tool for clinical practice. Furthermore, the meta-analysis further confirmed the critical role of HER2/ERBB2 in the development of gastric cancer.