What does HER2/neu status indicate?
What does HER2/neu status indicate?
HER2 is the more common name for the gene called ERBB2. HER2 (or HER2/neu) stands for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2. The job of HER2 is to control a protein on the surface of cells that helps them grow….What the results mean.
| Scale | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 3+ | The HER2 is higher than normal. The tumour is HER2 positive. |
What is a HER2 score of 2+?
If the IHC result is 2+, the HER2 status of the tumor is not clear and is called “equivocal.” This means that the HER2 status needs to be tested with FISH to clarify the result.
What is a good HER2 score?
Testing for HER2 status The IHC gives a score of 0 to 3+ that measures the amount of HER2 proteins on the surface of cells in a breast cancer tissue sample. If the score is 0 to 1+, it’s considered HER2-negative. If the score is 2+, it’s considered borderline. A score of 3+ is considered HER2-positive.
What is HER2/neu overexpression?
Amplification or overexpression of HER2 occurs in approximately 15–30% of breast cancers and 10–30% of gastric/gastroesophageal cancers and serves as a prognostic and predictive biomarker. HER2 overexpression has also been seen in other cancers like ovary, endometrium, bladder, lung, colon, and head and neck.
What is HER2 low?
HER2-low is defined as IHC 1+ or IHC 2+ without HER2 gene amplification and compromises about 50 to 55% of all primary breast cancers [3, 4].
Is chemo necessary for HER2 positive?
Because HER2-positive cancer is considered more aggressive than HER2-negative breast cancer, it is usually treated with chemotherapy after surgery to reduce recurrence risk.
Can HER2-positive be cured?
HER2-positive breast cancer is highly curable because of the availability of these HER2-targeted therapies, so we treat patients fairly aggressively upfront to reduce the risk of them experiencing a stage IV recurrence.
What causes HER2 overexpression?
High levels of HER2 protein are encountered due to overexpression caused by a mutation in the HER2 gene. HER2 produced at high levels causes uncontrolled proliferation of cells.
Is it good to have HER2-positive?
It’s healthy in normal amounts, but too much may be a sign of a certain type of breast cancer. Most people with breast cancer have a normal amount of this protein, which means you are HER2-negative. But about 1 in 5 cases are HER2-positive, which means your levels are unusually high.