BACKGROUND: HER-2/neu (ERBB2) gene amplification and/or overexpression is a major event in human breast tumorigenesis. HER-2/neu gene alterations have been the most frequently assessed prognostic factors during the last 10 years in breast cancer and have recently emerged as a management decision tool and a therapeutic target. There is still controversy over the best method to determine whether a tumor is HER-2/neu positive. Because of the increasing demand for HER-2/neu gene status determination in clinical practice, we compared HER-2/neu gene alterations at the DNA level (gene amplification) and the protein level (overexpression) in a panel of patients with lymph node-negative breast cancer who had received local radiotherapy alone, with no adjuvant therapy. METHODS: We tested 100 excised lymph node-negative breast tumors, using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with a biotinylated HER-2/neu DNA probe and immunohistochemical assays (IHC) with 2 different antibodies. RESULTS: The FISH frequency of HER-2/neu gene amplification was 15%, and the IHC frequency of overexpression was 21%. CONCLUSION: Although HER-2/neu amplification by FISH and HER-2/neu overexpression by IHC correlated well in this panel of lymph node-negative breast carcinomas, there were a number of discordant cases, pointing to the important need for determining HER-2/neu alteration for the future management of HER-2/neu-based clinical applications.
BACKGROUND:HER-2/neu (ERBB2) gene amplification and/or overexpression is a major event in human breast tumorigenesis. HER-2/neu gene alterations have been the most frequently assessed prognostic factors during the last 10 years in breast cancer and have recently emerged as a management decision tool and a therapeutic target. There is still controversy over the best method to determine whether a tumor is HER-2/neu positive. Because of the increasing demand for HER-2/neu gene status determination in clinical practice, we compared HER-2/neu gene alterations at the DNA level (gene amplification) and the protein level (overexpression) in a panel of patients with lymph node-negative breast cancer who had received local radiotherapy alone, with no adjuvant therapy. METHODS: We tested 100 excised lymph node-negative breast tumors, using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with a biotinylated HER-2/neu DNA probe and immunohistochemical assays (IHC) with 2 different antibodies. RESULTS: The FISH frequency of HER-2/neu gene amplification was 15%, and the IHC frequency of overexpression was 21%. CONCLUSION: Although HER-2/neu amplification by FISH and HER-2/neu overexpression by IHC correlated well in this panel of lymph node-negative breast carcinomas, there were a number of discordant cases, pointing to the important need for determining HER-2/neu alteration for the future management of HER-2/neu-based clinical applications.
Authors: Rani James; K Thriveni; Girija Ramaswamy; Lakshmi Krishnamoorthy; Geetashree Mukherjee; P P Vijayalaxmi Deshmane; P P Bapsy Journal: Indian J Clin Biochem Date: 2008-12-20
Authors: Yuefeng Wang; Julia Y S Tsang; Yongmei Cui; Ji Cui; Ying Lin; Songli Zhao; Patrick T W Law; Sai Yin Cheung; Enders K O Ng; Gary M K Tse; Zunfu Ke Journal: Sci Rep Date: 2017-07-28 Impact factor: 4.379
Authors: Marcus Schmidt; Barbara Lewark; Nikolai Kohlschmidt; Christiane Glawatz; Erik Steiner; Berno Tanner; Henryk Pilch; Wolfgang Weikel; Heinz Kölbl; Hans-Anton Lehr Journal: Breast Cancer Res Date: 2005-01-26 Impact factor: 6.466