Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2014 Aug 15;7(9):6254-61.
eCollection 2014.

Correlation of HER2 overexpression with gene amplification and its relation to chromosome 17 aneuploidy: a 5-year experience with invasive ductal and lobular carcinomas

Aziza Nassar  1 , Andras Khoor  1 , Reshmitha Radhakrishnan  2 , Anu Radhakrishnan  3 , Cynthia Cohen  4
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Correlation of HER2 overexpression with gene amplification and its relation to chromosome 17 aneuploidy: a 5-year experience with invasive ductal and lobular carcinomas

Aziza Nassar et al. Int J Clin Exp Pathol. .

Abstract

The HER2 oncogene shows expression or amplification, or both, in approximately 15% to 20% of breast cancers and has been associated with poor prognosis and a response to trastuzumab therapy. HER2 gene status determines the eligibility of breast cancer patients for trastuzumab therapy and a large fraction (41-56%) of these patients respond to targeted therapy. Several studies have related the increased expression of HER2 to an increased copy number of chromosome 17, rather than amplification of the HER2 gene. We compared the results of immunohistochemistry and fluorescence in situ hybridization in both invasive ductal and invasive lobular carcinomas, to determine the frequency of chromosome 17 aneuploidy associated with discordant results. In total, 390 invasive ductal carcinomas and 180 invasive lobular carcinomas diagnosed from January 2000 to December 2005 were included in the study only if results were available for immunohistochemistry (HercepTest; DAKO, Carpinteria, California) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (PathVysion HER2 DNA Probe Kit; Abbott Laboratories, Des Plaines, Illinois). Tumors classified as invasive ductal carcinomas were graded according to the Bloom-Richardson grading system. Correlation between the results of immunohistochemistry and fluorescence in situ hybridization was performed for all categories. Among invasive ductal carcinomas, 29% (115/390) showed chromosome 17 aneuploidy, mostly associated with grade 3/HER2 2+ (45%) or grade 2/HER2 3+ (55%) that were not amplified. Also, 34% (12/35) of invasive lobular carcinomas showed chromosome 17 aneuploidy; approximately one-third of these cases were HER2 2+ (33%) and HER2 3+ (37%) that were not amplified. Discordance between the results of immunohistochemistry and fluorescence in situ hybridization in both ductal and lobular carcinomas is largely associated with chromosome 17 aneuploidy.

Keywords: Aneuploidy; HER2 genes; ductal carcinoma; human HER2 protein; human chromosome pair 17; lobular carcinoma.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Powell WC, Hicks DG, Prescott N, Tarr SM, Laniauskas S, William T, Short S, Pettay J, Nagle RB, Dabbs DJ, Scott KY, Brown RW, Grogan T, Roche T, Tubbs RR. A New Rabbit Monoclonal Antibody (4B5) for the Immunohistochemical (IHC) Determination of the HER2 Status in Breast Cancer: Comparison with CB11, Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization (FISH) and Interlaboratory Reproducibility. Appl Immunohistochem Mol Morphol. 2007;15:94–102. - PubMed
    1. Wolff AC, Hammond ME, Hicks DG, Dowsett M, McShane LM, Allison KH, Allred DC, Bartlett JMS, Bilous M, Fitzgibbons P, Hanna W, Jenkins RB, Mangu PB, Paik S, Perez EA, Press MF, Spears PA, Vance GH, Viale G, Hayes DF. Recommendations for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 testing in breast cancer: American Society of Clinical Oncology/College of American Pathologists clinical practice guideline update. J. Clin. Oncol. 2013;31:3997–4014. - PubMed
    1. Carlson RW, Moench SJ, Hammond EH, Perez EA, Burstein HJ, Allred DC, Vogel CL, Goldstein LJ, Somlo G, Gradishar WJ, Hudis CA, Jahanzeb M, Stark A, Wolff AC, Press MF, Winer EP, Paik S, Ljung BM. HER2 Testing in breast cancer: NCCN Task Force report and recommendations. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2006;4:S1–22. - PubMed
    1. Slamon DJ, Leyland-Jones B, Shak S, Fuchs H, Paton V, Bajamonde A, Fleming T, Eiermann W, Wolter J, Pegram M, Baselga J, Norton L. Use of chemotherapy plus a monoclonal antibody against HER2 for metastatic breast cancer that overexpress HER2. N Engl J Med. 2001;344:783–92. - PubMed
    1. Yaziji H, Gown AM. Accuracy and precision in HER2/neu testing in breast cancer: are we there yet? Hum Pathol. 2004;35:143–146. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances