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Human pituitary adenomas do not overexpress thec-erbB-2 oncoprotein

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Abstract

Thec-erbB-2 proto-oncogene encodes a 190-kD putative membrane receptor that shows considerable homology to the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor.c-erbB-2 is overexpressed in many human tumors but has not previously been studied in pituitary tumors. In the normal pituitary gland, EGF is believed to play a regulatory role, but EGF receptors were found to be absent in a study of 22 pituitary adenomas. In the present study, 32 human pituitary adenomas and 7 samples of normal human pituitary were stained for thec-erbB-2 oncoprotein. All were negative for membrane staining, which suggests that amplification of thec-erbB-2 oncogene is not important in the etiology and progression of human pituitary adenomas.

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Wetherall, M.R.B., Corbett, I.P., Ince, P. et al. Human pituitary adenomas do not overexpress thec-erbB-2 oncoprotein. Endocr Pathol 2, 210–213 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02915209

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