ISSN:
1365-2559
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Aims: This study was performed to test the validity of different methods for determining the status of the erbB-2/HER-2 oncogene in breast cancer tissues for diagnostic use.Methods and results: Forty formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded breast carcinomas were investigated by fluorescence in situ and comparative genomic hybridization (FISH, CGH) as well as by immunohistochemistry (IHC) using Dako-HercepTestTM and CB11 antibody (Ventana). Additionally, competitive-differential polymerase chain reaction (cdPCR) was performed on frozen samples to estimate gene dosage alterations of erbB-2/HER-2. Amplification was detected in 12–23% and protein overexpression in 16–68% of the cases, depending on the methodology and/or the reagent used. Perfect concordance (100%) was found between the results of cdPCR and CB11-IHC, and a 97% concordance between FISH and CB11-IHC. The concordance between Dako-HercepTestTM and CB11-IHC was 78%; seven of eight 2 + carcinomas with the Dako-HercepTestTM were classified as nonamplified using FISH.Conclusions: Our results indicate that high-level expression as well as normal erbB-2/HER-2 status of breast carcinomas can be detected reliably both by IHC and gene dosage assessment in paraffin material for diagnostic use. However, borderline results, especially those with 2 + immunopositivity, should be interpreted with caution and increased emphasis should be given to other clinical and prognostic information available.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2559.2000.00984.x
