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A recent in vitro study has suggested that overexpression of ERBB2 may mediate breast tumour progression and metastasis by inhibiting the transcription of the E-cadherin (E-CD) gene. To test this hypothesis in human breast cancer in vivo, we studied the relationship between the expression of both molecules in 247 breast carcinomas immunohistochemically. Five ductal carcinomas in situ overexpressed ERBB2 and showed preserved E-CD expression. Forty-four of 226 infiltrating ductal carcinomas (19.47%) showed ERBB2 overexpression, and a statistically significant relationship was found between ERBB2 overexpression and high histological grade. E-CD expression was preserved in 111 cases (49.1%) and correlated with the histological grade. However, no significant relationship was found between ERBB2 and E-CD expression. None of the 16 infiltrating lobular carcinomas expressed ERBB2 or E-CD. These observations in different histological types of breast carcinoma strongly argue against a role for ERBB2 as a transcriptional regulator of E-CD expression in most human breast carcinomas in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]