title: HER2 status in gastric cancers: a retrospective analysis from four Chinese representative clinical centers and assessment of its prognostic significance.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  HER2 has a predictive value in gastric cancer. However, its association with prognosis remains uncertain. The aim of our study was to estimate the HER2-positive rate in Chinese gastric cancers, compare the classical fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) method with the novel bright-field dual color silver-enhanced in situ hybridization (DSISH) detection system, and evaluate the relationship between the HER2 status and prognosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seven hundred and twenty-six resected gastric cancers separately from four clinical centers in China were examined for HER2 by immunohistochemistry (IHC), FISH, and DSISH.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The HER2-positive rate was 13%. The consistency between FISH and DSISH results was high (99%; κ = 0.958; P < 0.001). Tumor heterogeneity and polysomy were the main reasons for inconsistency. There was no significant difference in the 3-year overall survival (OS) between HER2-positive and -negative patients (P = 0.959). Multivariate analysis showed that HER2 was not an independent prognostic factor.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HER2 overexpression and amplification occur in a significant number of Chinese gastric cancer patients. Given the obvious advantages and high consistency with FISH, DSISH was superior for evaluating HER2 amplification in gastric cancer. HER2 was not a prognostic factor for gastric cancer in our study.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: W Q
authors.initials: WQ
authors.lastname: Sheng
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ying
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Y H
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bu
authors.forename: X Y
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Du
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002681:China; D005784:Gene Amplification; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D013534:Survival
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; C508053:ERBB2 protein, human
keywords: FISH; HER2; dual SISH; gastric cancer; immunohistochemistry; prognosis