title: c-erbB-2 amplification in breast cancer: detection in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue by in situ hybridization.
abstract: We describe a sensitive and practical in situ hybridization method, using a digoxigenin-labeled probe, for the detection of c-erbB-2 amplification in breast cancer in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections. Forty-six primary breast carcinomas were studied. Nuclear hybridization signal was observed in 36 of 46 carcinomas. Signal was confined to malignant cells. Normal breast epithelium and stromal and inflammatory cells were uniformally negative. DNase predigestion, no-probe preparations, and competitive hybridization confirmed the specificity of the reaction. The hybridization reaction was localized to multiple discrete foci in tumor cell nuclei, suggesting multiple sites of gene copy and transcriptional activity in the nucleus. Considerable cell-to-cell variation in hybridization signal was evident within individual tumors and positive reactions were observed in several cases in which amplification could not be detected by either Southern or slot blot analysis. The high sensitivity and specificity of the reaction and its use in a tissue-based system will allow the study of a range of possible precursor lesions of breast cancer for evidence of c-erbB-2 amplification.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Western Australia, Nedlands.
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Robbins
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Dawkins
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Papadimitriou
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Redmond
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Carrello
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Harvey
authors.forename: G F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Sterrett
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000235:genetics*; D005784:Gene Amplification; D006801:Humans; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D016612:Paraffin Embedding; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D016707:Tissue Fixation
chemical_list: D066246:ErbB Receptors; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases