the relationship between her2-overexpressing and incidence of breast cancer recurrence

introduction: breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide and her-2 is one importantly prognostic factor in this cancer. tumor markers use as a criterion for predicting recurrence, but in breast cancer physical examination and mammography are important factors that are recommended for following up the recurrence. the aim of this study was to assess the correlation between breast cancer recurrence and her2-overexpressing in breast cancer patients in arak, iran. methods: this cross-sectional study was conducted on 140 patients with primary breast cancer referred to ayatollah khansari hospital of arak, iran during 2006-2010. estrogen and progesterone receptors and her-2 expression were evaluated by immunohistochemistry procedure in tissue samples. at arrival patients underwent complete physical examination and chest ct-scan. after operation and dissection of involved lymph node, patients treated properly by oncologist and followed up for 2 years for recurrence of symptoms. data were analyzed by spss software version 16 and chi-square test. p value less than 0.05 was considered significant. results: out of 140 cases, 102 patients (78.85%) had lymph node metastasis. no significant association was found between her2, estrogen and progesterone receptors and lymph node metastasis (p>0.05). rate of recurrence was 42.1% in her2 positivecases and 25.6% in her2negative. rate of recurrence in both her2 positive and her2 negative groups showed no statistically significant difference (p=0.16). conclusion: there is no significant relation between breast cancer recurrence and over expression of her2.