Fig. 5

HER-3 protein expression of primary rectal cancer visualized by immunohistochemistry staining. a shows different intensities of HER-3 expression and the grading from no staining (IHC 0) to an intensive staining for HER-3 (IHC 3+). The positivity rate for HER-3 protein expression and the distribution of different staining grades within the analysed cohort of 172 CRC patients are depicted in the bar graph in b. Kaplan-Meier curves showing the time to recurrence (TTR) (c) and the cancer specific overall survival (d) in patients with tumors negative or with low expression of HER-3 (IHC 0–1+) versus a high HER-3 expression (IHC 2–3+)