HER 2/neu Overexpression in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Its Clinico-Pathological Association at a Tertiary Care Center in Eastern India

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2/neu (HER2/neu) is known to serve as a prognostic and predictive biomarker in several cancers such as breast, gastric and ovarian cancers. In head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, HER2/neu expression is seen but in a fluctuated manner. Hence, its role as a prognostic factor in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) needs evaluation. To determine the HER 2/neu overexpression in OSCC patients and its association with clinical and pathological parameters. 74 patients of OSCC treated between 2016 and 2018 were included in the study. Immunohistochemistry was done on tissue samples from these patients and HER2/neu expression was measured. Both biopsy and resected specimens were considered for the study. Out of 74 patients, 47.3% (35) were operated and 52.7% (39) were not operated due to loss to follow-up. No significant association was found (p = 0.636, OR = 0.68, CI = 0.14–3.34) between lymphovascular invasion (LVI) and HER2/neu expression. Similar results were seen for perineural invasion (PNI) (p = 0.490, OR = 0.53, CI = 0.88–3.24), depth of invasion (p = 0.21), grade of tumor (p = 0.214), clinical-stage (p = 0.511) and pathological stage (p = 0.091). No significant association existed between HER2/neu expression and LVI, PNI, clinical-stage, the grade of tumor and the pathological stage of oral squamous cell carcinoma.