Wesoła Marta, Jeleń Michał
Department of Pathomorphology and Oncological Cytology, Wroclaw Medical University, Poland.
Adv Clin Exp Med. 2015 Sep-Oct;24(5):899-903. doi: 10.17219/acem/27923.
The HER2 gene is responsible for the formation of the HER2 receptor on the surface of epithelial cells. Increased numbers of this receptor are associated with a worse prognosis in cancer. Increased numbers of copies of the HER2 gene occur in about 20-30% of breast cancer patients, so determining HER2 receptor levels is important in the current diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. One diagnostic technique is the immunohistochemical (IHC) method, which permits indirect measurement of overexpression of HER2 receptors, based on subjective determination of the intensity of the color reaction. Another technique is the use of fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), which permits the exact number of copies of the HER2 gene to be specified. Based on the results of FISH tests, patients can be qualified for treatment with antibodies that partially block HER2 receptors. This treatment causes inhibition of tumor growth signals. Determining the HER2 status in breast cancer with the FISH method allows the further progress of the disease to be predicted, the right treatment to be chosen and the response to the treatment to be foreseen. Because of the widespread use of the FISH and IHC methods, comparing the advantages and disadvantages of these two methods seems to be relevant.
HER2基因负责上皮细胞表面HER2受体的形成。该受体数量增加与癌症预后较差相关。约20%-30%的乳腺癌患者存在HER2基因拷贝数增加的情况，因此确定HER2受体水平在当前乳腺癌的诊断和治疗中很重要。一种诊断技术是免疫组织化学（IHC）方法，该方法基于对显色反应强度的主观判断，间接测量HER2受体的过表达情况。另一种技术是使用荧光原位杂交（FISH），它可以确定HER2基因的精确拷贝数。根据FISH检测结果，患者可接受部分阻断HER2受体的抗体治疗。这种治疗会抑制肿瘤生长信号。用FISH方法确定乳腺癌中的HER2状态有助于预测疾病的进一步发展、选择正确的治疗方法并预见治疗反应。由于FISH和IHC方法的广泛应用，比较这两种方法的优缺点似乎很有必要。
