Prognostic significance of ERBB3 overexpression in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Immunohistochemical analysis of erbB3, as the third member of epidermal growth factor receptor gene family, was performed on 41 cases of oral squamous cell carcinoma, correlating the staining pattern with clinical outcome. High expression of erbB3 protein (ERBB3) was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05), survival rate (P < 0.05) and mode of invasion (P < 0.01) in this series. These results demonstrated that ERBB3 expression may be helpful in identifying those oral squamous cell carcinomas with higher malignant potential.