title: HER-2/neu and topoisomerase IIa gene amplification and protein expression in invasive breast carcinomas: chromogenic in situ hybridization and immunohistochemical analyses.
abstract: We studied HER-2/neu (HER-2) and topoisomerase IIa (topo2a) amplification (using chromogenic in situ hybridization) and overexpression (immunohistochemical analysis) in 113 invasive breast carcinomas. A gene copy number/chromosome 17 copy number ratio of 2.0 or higher indicated amplification. A topo2a/chromosome 17 ratio of less than 0.8 indicated gene deletion. HER-2 overexpression was scored according to standard HercepTest guidelines (DAKO, Carpinteria, CA). Overexpression of topo2a was identified when nuclear staining was found in more than 5% of tumor cells. Of 113 tumors, 104 were analyzed successfully for HER-2 and topo2a amplification. Of the 104, 64 showed HER-2 amplification; 25 of these (39%) also showed topo2a amplification. No amplification was found in 40 tumors. Deletion of topo2a was seen in 7 (11%) of 64 HER-2-amplified tumors and 2 (5%) of 40 nonamplified tumors. Of 25 tumors with topo2a amplification, 18 (72%) overexpressed topo2a. Only 3 (4%) of 79 tumors without topo2a amplification overexpressed topo2a. Amplification of topo2a is associated with HER-2 amplification but not vice versa. Amplification of topo2a resulted in protein overexpression in 72% of tumors, but topo2a overexpression rarely occurred without gene amplification. Identification of topo2a and HER-2 status might have therapeutic and prognostic implications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering, Cancer Center, New York, NY 10021, USA.
authors.forename: Rohit
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bhargava
authors.forename: Priti
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lal
authors.forename: Beiyun
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D004250:DNA Topoisomerases, Type II / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005784:Gene Amplification; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D011379:Prognosis; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D004250:DNA Topoisomerases, Type II; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases