BACKGROUND Anti-EGFR antibody-based treatment is an important therapeutic strategy for advanced colorectal cancer (CRC); despite this, several mutations--including KRAS, BRAF, and PIK3CA mutations, and HER2 amplification--are associated with the mechanisms underlying the development of resistance to anti-EGFR therapy. The aim of our study was to investigate the frequencies and clinical implicat...

Amplification of the HER2/neu gene in 18-20% of patients with breast cancer produces the primary mechanism of HER2 protein overexpression (PenaultLlorca et al., 2009; Thang et al., 2011; Dekker et al., 2012). The HER2 gene is a tumor marker associated with rapid tumor growth, increased recurrence rate after surgery, and decreased life expectancy (Penault-Llorca et al., 2009; Thang et al., 2011)...

The goal of this study was to assess the performance characteristics of the Automated Cellular Imaging System (ACIS III) for HER2 immunohistochemical analysis. The study was performed on 187 biopsy slides from patients who underwent HER2 testing between January and February 2008. Three scoring methods by the ACIS III were compared with the manual score and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FI...

BACKGROUND Adjuvant therapy comprising the HER2 receptor antagonist trastuzumab is associated with a significant improvement in disease-free and overall survival as compared to chemotherapy alone in localized HER2-positive breast cancer (BC). However, a subset of HER2-positive tumors seems to respond less favorably to trastuzumab. Various mechanisms have been proposed for trastuzumab resistance...

BACKGROUND HER2 has a predictive value in gastric cancer. However, its association with prognosis remains uncertain. The aim of our study was to estimate the HER2-positive rate in Chinese gastric cancers, compare the classical fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) method with the novel bright-field dual color silver-enhanced in situ hybridization (DSISH) detection system, and evaluate the r...

Centrosomes ensure accurate chromosome segregation by directing spindle bipolarity. Loss of centrosome regulation results in centrosome amplification, multipolar mitosis and aneuploidy. Since centrosome amplification is common in premalignant lesions and breast tumors, it is proposed to play a central role in breast tumorigenesis, a hypothesis that remains to be tested. The coordination between...

BACKGROUND Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) are reliable ways to identify overexpression or amplification of the HER-2/neu (HER2, symbol ERBB2) gene, but each technique requires a high-quality tissue sample, which may not be available. We investigated whether serum concentrations of the HER2 extracellular domain (ECD) can be used as an alternative to tissu...

The management of pT1a-bN0M0 breast cancer remains an area of controversy. Data from 714 patients classified as having pT1a-bN0M0 breast cancer and treated, from 1999 to 2004 in the Languedoc-Roussillon France, were analyzed. The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status analyses were centralized. The objective of this study was to describe the prognosis of pT1a-bN0M0 breast cancer...

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To review the clinical significance, methods of testing, and outcomes of trastuzumab (Herceptin) treatment for HER2 gene amplification and HER2 protein overexpression in breast cancer. DATA SOURCES Published articles and abstracts, online resources, a clinical handbook, and product information. DATA SYNTHESIS HER2 gene amplification or HER2 protein overexpression can be f...

The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) proto-oncogene plays an important role in the development and progression of breast and gastric cancer. Monitoring of the HER2 status and treatment with trastuzumab was performed initially in breast cancer, and subsequently in gastric cancer. However, the HER2 status of thyroid cancer remains unexplored. Telomere alteration and telomerase acti...