HER 2/neu protein expression in colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND: Conflicting data exist about the prevalence of HER-2/neu overexpression in colorectal cancer ranging from 0 to 83 %. In our study we tried to clarify the extent of expression and its relationship to clinicopathological parameters. METHODS: This study involved 77 specimens of malignant colorectal cancer lesions of surgically resected patients. HER-2/neu immunohistochemistry was performed using the Hercep-Test Kit. RESULTS: Out of 77 specimens, 56 were Her-2/neu negative (70%), 20 (26%) showed a barely immunostaining (1+), only 1 (1%) was moderately (2+) and 2 (3%) were strongly positive (3+). Her-2/neu staining (moderately and strongly positive) was only detected in primary tumours of patients with confirmed metastases. No relationship was found between membranous HER-2 expression and patients' gender or differentiation. The median survival time of patients with positive HER-2/neu immunostaining was 21 versus 39 months in patients without HER-2/neu expression (p = 0.088). CONCLUSION: The c-erbB protein expression was observed in colorectal cancer but rarely in the therapeutic range (2+ and 3+). There was no significant association with tumour grade, gender, localization of the primary tumour or survival. These data indicate that c-erbB-2 is unlikely to play a major role in the therapeutic management of colorectal cancer

Two Rare Cases of Intrahepatic Subcapsular Hematoma After Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

The appearance of subcapsular liver hematoma after a laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is an infrequent complication and seldom studied. Some cases have been connected to ketorolac given during surgery and after surgery. Other described causes are : hemangiomas or small iatrogenic lesions that could be aggravated by administration of ketorolac. Coagulation dysfunction like circulating heparin as seen in hemathological diseases is cause of bleeding after aggressive procedures. We describe two cases of subcapsular liver hematoma after LC, both of them have been given intravenous ketorolac and one of them had multiple myeloma. We discuss the causes and treatment of it