الفهرس 
GASTROESOPHAGEAL REFLUX DISEASEOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Background: Barrett’s esophagus (BE) is a well-known premalignant lesion of the lower esophagus that is characterized by intestinal metaplasia of the squamous epithelium. Once developed, it can progress through varying grades of dysplasia to esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2(HER2) is a transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinase that regulates proliferation, adhesion, differentiation, and migration. HER2 plays a role in the development and progression of several types of cancer,However, the status of HER2 expression in EAC remains unclear. This study aims to evaluate the role of HER 2 expression as a potential marker for progression of Barrett’s esophagus to esophageal adenocarcinoma and to examine its relationship with the clinicopathological features of the patients.Methods: This study included 40 subjects; 30 patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (23 patients with BE and 7 patients with EAC) and 10 normal subjects as a control group. Complete blood count and fecal occult blood test were measured. Esophageal mucosa was evaluated by upper endoscopy and histopathological examination for mucosal biopsy from gastro-esophageal junction was done. Scoring of HER2 expression was performed by immunohistochemical staining.Results: HER2 expression was significantly increased in patients with BE and those with EAC (tumorous tissue) as compared to control group. Also, HER2 expression was significantly higher in tumorous tissue than in BE and in non- tumorous tissue. There was significant difference between BE patients with positive HER2 expression and those with negative expression regarding the degree of dysplasia.HER2 expression in tumorous tissue of EAC patients was significantly affected by TNM stage. HER2 expression was positively correlated with degree of dysplasia in BE patients and with TNM stage in EAC patients.Conclusions: High HER2 expression levels correlated well with the degree of dysplasia in BE patients and its progression to EAC. HER2 expression may be regarded as a potential biomaker for early detection of EAC. HER2 expression may have an important role in esophageal carcinogenesis and may be regarded as a useful target for elucidating the molecular mechanisms associated with cancer. Clearly, further well-designed prospective studies are required to prove this hypothesis