Breast cancer is one of the most significant health concerns worldwide. The discovery of molecular changes at the gene level represents a critical milestone toward the development of novel targeted therapy specific to cancer cells. The recognition of the significance of the HER-2/neu oncogene is a landmark in the treatment and prognostication of breast cancer. The human epidermal growth factor 2, HER-2/neu (c-erbB- 2) oncogene, a member of the growth factor receptor family, is amplified in 10-34% of patients with invasive breast cancer and associated with more aggressive disease and poorer prognosis. The development of an immunotherapeutic, trastuzamab (Herceptin), to the extracellular domain of HER-2/neu has provided significant improvements in the outcome of HER2 positive breast cancer patients in the adjuvant, neoadjuvant and metastatic setting. This paradigm shift in breast cancer treatment has made it imperative to measure HER-2/neu amplification status to correctly identify and assign breast cancer patients for Herceptin therapy. There is an increasing demand for the development of clinically meaningful and reproducible assays for HER-2/neu on archived and prospective histological and cytological samples, their integration with prospective molecular methods and therapeutics is a challenge that pathologists must now address. This review focuses on current and future methodologies for measuring HER-2/ neu in breast cancer and also includes a synopsis on the role of HER2/neu gene in breast cancer, its association with histological types and grades, familial and male breast cancer.
In this study, single, mix, multilayer Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) electrospun nanofibers with epidermal growth factor (EGF) and fibroblast growth factor (FGF) were fabricated and characterized as a biological wound dressing scaffolds. The biological activities of the synthesized scaffolds have been verified by in vitro and in vivo studies. The chemical composition finding showed that the identified functional units within the produced nanofibers (O-H and N-H bonds) are attributed to both growth factors (GFs) in the PVA nanofiber membranes. Electrospun nanofibers' morphological features showed long protrusion and smooth morphology without beads and sprayed with an average range of 198-286 nm fiber diameter. The fiber diameters decrement and the improvement in wettability and surface roughness were recorded after GFs incorporated within the PVA Nanofibers, which indicated potential good adoption as biological dressing scaffolds due to the identified mechanical properties (Young's modulus) in between 18 and 20 MPa. The MTT assay indicated that the growth factor release from the PVA nanofibers has stimulated cell proliferation and promoted cell viability. In the cell attachment study, the GFs incorporated PVA nanofibers stimulated cell proliferation and adhered better than the PVA control sample and presented no cytotoxic effect. The in vivo studies showed that compared to the control and single PVA-GFs nanofiber, the mix and multilayer scaffolds gave a much more wound reduction at day 7 with better wound repair at day 14-21, which indicated to enhancing tissue regeneration, thus, could be a projected as a suitable burn wound dressing scaffold.
Matched MeSH terms: EGF Family of Proteins/pharmacology*