ErbB/Her dimerization in breast and lung cancer

643 Background: Transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinases play an important role in the pathogenesis of many types of cancer. The EGFR family includes erbB1 (EGFR or Her1), erbB2 (Her2 or neu), erbB3 (Her3), and erbB4 (Her4). It is well established that ligands like EGF and HRG bind to the extracellular region of the EGFR monomers and promote receptor dimerization. Receptor dimerization leads to increased tyrosine kinase activity resulting in uncontrolled cell proliferation and inhibition of apoptosis. We have developed a method for the determination of Her dimerization patterns in cancer using eTag™ multiplexed assays. Materials and Method: We have analyzed a total of 73 snap-frozen human breast tissues and 37 lung tissues comprising of both tumor and normal samples. Using the proximity-based multiplexed eTag assays, we determined the dimerization profiles in these tissues. Results: ErbB/Her dimerization was detected only in tumor tissues but not in normal breast tissues, whether matched with the same dono...