Comparison of immunohistochemistry and fluorescence in situ hybridization in detecting c-erbB-2 expression in breast cancer / 西安交通大学学报(医学版)

ABSTRACT

Objective To compare the consistency of immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in detecting c-erbB-2 status in breast cancer tissues. Methods A total of 50 breast cancer paraffin embedded samples were selected, of which there were 10 cases of c-erbB-2 protein expression (+), 20 cases of (++) and 20 cases of (+++). FISH was used to assess the amplification of c-erbB-2 gene, and SPSS 13.0 software was employed to analyze the difference and consistency between the two methods. Results IHC and FISH methods had a good consistency when detecting c-erbB-2 (+) and (+++) expressions in breast cancer tissues, with the coincidence rate of 89.2%. However, when IHC was used to test c-erbB-2 (++), the result of FISH was quite different, with the coincidence rate of only 35.3%. Conclusion IHC is a preliminary method to detect c-erbB-2 status in breast cancer. IHC and FISH methods have a good consistency in detecting c-erbB-2 (+) and (+++) status in breast cancer tissues. As detection of c-erbB-2 (++) with IHC has a different result from FISH, such patients should receive FISH confirmation for herceptin therapy.