Breast Cancer Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Breast Cancer, including details on symptoms, genetics, screening, treatment, information.

HER-2 amplification in tubular carcinoma of the breast.

Oakley GJ, Tubbs RR, Crowe J, Sebek B, Budd GT, Patrick RJ, Procop GW

Marshall University School of Medicine, Huntington, WV, USA.

The prognostic and therapeutic implications of HER-2 gene amplification and estrogen and progesterone receptor status in breast cancer are well described. To address the relative paucity of information concerning HER-2 amplification for tubular carcinomas, we assessed the frequency of gene amplification in 55 tubular carcinomas of the breast from 54 patients, 5 of which had axillary node metastases. The HER-2 gene copy number was assessed by fluorescence in situ hybridization for the majority of tumors analyzed, whereas estrogen and progesterone receptor status was achieved by immunohistochemical analysis. HER-2 gene amplification was not observed in any of the tumors examined, and most were estrogen receptor-positive. This HER-2 gene amplification frequency was significantly lower than the frequency of gene amplification previously reported for all invasive ductal carcinoma of no special type (P < .01). HER-2 gene amplification likely occurs infrequently, or not at all, in tubular carcinomas of the breast, whereas most express estrogen receptors.

Published 6 June 2006 in Am J Clin Pathol, 126(1): 55-8.
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