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Quantification of EGFR autoantibodies in the amplification phenomenon of HER2 in breast cancer

  • Dorte Aa. Olsen EMAIL logo , Erik H. Jakobsen and Ivan Brandslund
Published/Copyright: September 9, 2013
Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (CCLM)
From the journal Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (CCLM) Volume 51 Issue 12

Abstract

Background: Gene amplification or overexpression of human epidermal growth factor receptor HER2/ErB2 is seen in 25–30% of patients with breast cancer and is related to an aggressive disease. The mechanism behind the HER2 gene amplification is unknown, but it may be caused by continuous stimulation and activation. We hypothesised that autoantibodies against EGFR might have a stimulatory effect. To investigate this we developed a quantitative method to measure autoantibodies against EGFR in serum (S-EGFRAb).

Methods: Serum samples from primary breast cancer patients were selected based on the degree of HER2 protein and gene amplification in the cancer tissue. Fifty patients had low levels of HER2 (≤16 ng/mg total protein) and no HER2 gene amplification; 43 patients had high levels of HER2 (≥200 ng/mg total protein) and HER2 gene amplification. Serum was also collected from controls consisting of 50 healthy age-matched women. An ELISA was developed to measure S-EGFRAb quantitatively.

Results: No significant differences in S-EGFRAb concentrations were seen between patients with high and low levels of HER2 or between the patients and the controls. Furthermore, no significant correlations were observed between S-EGFRAb and stage, differentiation state, age or prognosis. A negative correlation (p=0.0022) was found between S-EGFRAb and disease free survival in the group of patients with relapse or death.

Conclusions: S-EGFRAb can be measured accurately using the ELISA we developed. We conclude that autoantibodies against EGFR do not seem to be associated with the HER2 gene amplification phenomenon.

Keywords: autoantibodies; breast cancer; EGFR; ELISA; ErbB2 gene amplification
Corresponding author: Dorte Aa. Olsen, Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Lillebaelt Hospital, Kabbeltoft 25, 7100 Vejle, Denmark, Phone: +45 79406633, Fax: +45 79406871, E-mail:

The work was financed by the Vejle Hospital Research Fund. The authors wish to thank laboratory technologists, Sara Egsgaard and Camilla Davidsen, Department of Clinical Biochemistry, for excellent work.

Conflict of interest statement

Authors’ conflict of interest disclosure: The authors stated that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this article. Research funding played no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the report for publication.

Research funding: None declared.

Employment or leadership: None declared.

Honorarium: Ivan Brandslund has been recompensed by Siemens in connection with lectures on the use of serum HER2 quantification in clinical practice.

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Received: 2013-03-04
Accepted: 2013-08-03
Published Online: 2013-09-09
Published in Print: 2013-12-01

©2013 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston

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https://doi.org/10.1515/cclm-2013-0166
Keywords for this article
autoantibodies; breast cancer; EGFR; ELISA; ErbB2 gene amplification

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Letters to the Editor
  2. The addition of MESNA in vitro prolongs prothrombin time similar to N-acetyl cysteine
  3. Detection of unknown β-thalassemia cases from atypical HbA1c chromatograms
  4. Analytical study of a new turbidimetric assay for urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) determination
  5. The rare bipolar-contracted red cell significance and correlation with red cell volume
  6. Howell-Jolly body interference in reticulocyte counts
  7. PBMC expressed adiponectin mRNA is predictive of survival in patients with gastric cancer
  8. Comparison study of two commercially available methods for the determination of infliximab, adalimumab, etanercept and anti-drug antibody levels
  9. Development and validation of a rapid and reliable high-performance liquid chromatography method for methadone quantification in human plasma and saliva
  10. Reply to Ruiz-Argüello et al.: Comparison study of two commercially available methods for the determination of infliximab, adalimumab, etanercept and anti-drug antibody levels
  11. Still more discussion on the journal impact factor
  12. The order of draw, myth or science
  13. Masthead
  14. Masthead
  15. Editorial
  16. Multidisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity at work: the prenatal diagnosis
  17. Research Articles
  18. Prenatal diagnosis of inherited diseases: 20 years’ experience of an Italian Regional Reference Centre
  19. Prenatal diagnosis of haemoglobinopathies: our experience of 523 cases
  20. Prenatal diagnosis of cystic fibrosis: an experience of 181 cases
  21. Prenatal diagnosis of haemophilia: our experience of 44 cases
  22. Prenatal molecular diagnosis of inherited neuromuscular diseases: Duchenne/Becker muscular dystrophy, myotonic dystrophy type 1 and spinal muscular atrophy
  23. Editorials
  24. Journal impact factor: the debate continues
  25. Estimation of uncertainty in measurements in the clinical laboratory
  26. Review
  27. Searching for genes involved in hypertension development in special populations: children and pre-eclamptic women. Where are we standing now?
  28. Opinion Paper
  29. More discussion on journal impact factor
  30. General Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine
  31. Category-specific uncertainty modeling in clinical laboratory measurement processes
  32. The order of draw: myth or science?
  33. Planned variation in preanalytical conditions to evaluate biospecimen stability in the National Children’s Study (NCS)
  34. Longitudinal evaluation of thyroid autoimmunity and function in pregnant Korean women
  35. Evaluation of the N Latex free light chain assay in the diagnosis and monitoring of AL amyloidosis
  36. Identification of an important potential confound in CSF AD studies: aliquot volume
  37. Cancer Diagnostics
  38. Double heterozygosity in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes in Italian family
  39. Quantification of EGFR autoantibodies in the amplification phenomenon of HER2 in breast cancer
  40. Diabetes
  41. SAA1 genetic polymorphisms are associated with plasma glucose concentration in non-diabetic subjects
  42. Acknowledgment
  43. Acknowledgment
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