HER 2 Overexpression in Gastric Cancer: Current Insights and Future Horizons

Abstract

Background: Several risk factors like family history of gastric cancer, dietary habits and infections such as H-pylori and Epstein-Barr virus play significant role in developing gastric cancer. Aims: To determine the prevalence of HER2 overexpression in gastric cancers and to offer an updated, practical overview of HER2 testing and scoring methods essential for identifying patients eligible for trastuzumab therapy. Methods: Present study was carried out in the Chughtai Institute of Pathology from September 2024 to February 2025. This Study enrolled 58 confirmed cases of primary gastric adenocarcinoma that were evaluated for HER2 overexpression in Biopsy and resection specimens at our clinical setup. All clinical data was analyzed through spss v26. Chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test was applied on categorical variables for comparison with P-value ≤0.05 was take as significant. Results: Among the 58 cases, the most common tumor site was the antrum (63.8%). The majority of adenocarcinomas based on histology were moderately differentiated (50.0%), followed by poorly differentiated (48.3%) and well-differentiated tumors (1.7%). HER2 overexpression (score +3) was observed in 7 cases (12.1%) by using CAP (2017) scoring protocol. Correlation between histological differentiation and HER2 expression was statistically insignificant. Conclusion: It was concluded that HER2/neu over-expression was an independent prognostic factor for gastric cancer. However, it may assist in therapeutic decisions and improve survival rates among patients.