title: Feline HER2 protein expression levels and gene status in feline mammary carcinoma: optimization of immunohistochemistry (IHC) and in situ hybridization (ISH) techniques.
abstract: Human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER2) is a tumor biomarker that when overexpressed and/or amplified is associated with a poor prognosis for women with breast cancer. This specific tumor subtype is eligible for a specific immunotherapy that increases survival period. However, in feline oncology, only a few studies have been performed on molecular characterization of feline (fHER2) in feline mammary carcinoma (FMC), and the available data are inconsistent. In this study, fHER2 protein levels and gene status in FMC were evaluated by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. After being optimized, these techniques revealed that fHER2 is overexpressed in 33% of FMC cases, although fHER2 and fTOP2A gene amplification could not be observed. Our results support the possibility of using FMC as a natural model for comparative oncology. Additional data obtained may also improve the diagnostics, and consequently the treatment, of this type of tumor in veterinary medicine.
authors.affiliation: CIISA, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Av. da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477 Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Soares
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Correia
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.forename: Margarida
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Simões
authors.forename: Alves
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: de Matos
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ferreira
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D002415:Cats; D015870:Gene Expression; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods*; D017403:In Situ Hybridization / Q000379:methods*; D015674:Mammary Neoplasms, Animal / Q000473:pathology*; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics*; D014730:Veterinary Medicine / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases