Amplification of the C-erbB-2(HER-2/neu) proto-oncogene in ovarian carcinomas

C-erbB-2(HER-2/neu) proto-oncogene is mainly expressed in epithelial tissue and activated due to its amplification. Amplification of the C-erbB-2 proto-oncogene has been associated with poor prognosis in human ovarian cancer. Our study was to examine whether amplification is more frequently observed in ovarian cancer, or it is associated with poor prognosis of human ovarian cancer in China. The DNA of ovarian cancers was extracted and consequently digested with restriction endonuclease EcoRI, electrophoresed in 0.8% agarose gels and blotted onto nitrocellulose filter with Southern transferring method. It was then hybridized with a 32P-labelled C-erbB-2 probe and subsequently underwent autoradiography. The result has shown that the C-erbB-2(HER-2/neu) gene was amplified in 8 of 26 human ovarian cancers (30.8%). The clinical data showed that all of the 8 cases with the amplified C-erbB-2 were in their advanced stage (III-IV). Five of the patients died from 2 to 4 months after operation. These data suggest that amplification of the C-erbB-2 gene may play a role in the pathogenesis of ovarian carcinoma; it is frequently observed in advanced ovarian cancer and is associated with poor prognosis for these patients.