title: Quantification of HER family receptors in breast cancer.
abstract: The clinical success of trastuzumab in breast cancer taught us that appropriate tumor evaluation is mandatory for the correct identification of patients eligible for targeted therapies. Although HER2 protein expression by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and gene amplification by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assays are routinely used to select patients to receive trastuzumab, both assays only partially predict response to the drug. In the case of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), the link between the presence of the receptor or its amplification and response to anti-EGFR therapies could not be demonstrated. Even less is known for HER3 and HER4, mainly due to lack of robust and validated assays detecting these proteins. It is becoming evident that, besides FISH and IHC, we need better assays to quantify HER receptors and categorize the patients for individualized treatments. Here, we present the current available methodologies to measure HER family receptors and discuss the clinical implications of target quantification.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Oncology Laboratory, Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology, Passeig Vall d'Hebron 119-129, Barcelona, 08035, Spain. pnuciforo@vhio.net.|Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, 08035, Spain. pnuciforo@vhio.net.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nuciforo
authors.affiliation: ERTICa Research Group, University of Auvergne EA4677, 63000, Clermont-Ferrand, France. nina.radosevic.robin@gmail.com.|Biopathology, Jean Perrin Comprehensive Cancer Center, 58 rue Montalembert, 63011, Clermont-Ferrand, France. nina.radosevic.robin@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Radosevic-Robin
authors.affiliation: Richard Dimbleby Department of Cancer Research, Randall Division of Cell and Molecular Biophysics and Division of Cancer Studies, King's College London, London, SE1 1UL, UK. tony.ng@kcl.ac.uk.|UCL Cancer Institute, Paul O'Gorman Building, University College London, London, WC1E 6DD, UK. tony.ng@kcl.ac.uk.|Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Unit, Department of Research Oncology, Guy's Hospital King's College London School of Medicine, London, SE1 9RT, UK. tony.ng@kcl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program (HOPP), Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, Box 20, New York, NY, 10065, USA. scaltrim@mskcc.org.
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scaltriti
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011485:Protein Binding; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D066246:ErbB Receptors