These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed


  • Title: Real-time quantitative PCR of microdissected paraffin-embedded breast carcinoma: an alternative method for HER-2/neu analysis.
    Author: Gjerdrum LM, Sorensen BS, Kjeldsen E, Sorensen FB, Nexo E, Hamilton-Dutoit S.
    Journal: J Mol Diagn; 2004 Feb; 6(1):42-51. PubMed ID: 14736826.
    Abstract:
    We studied the feasibility of using real-time quantitative PCR to determine HER-2 DNA amplification and mRNA expression in microdissected formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded breast tumors and compared this with standard immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) methods. Study cases (27 carcinomas and 3 ductal breast carcinoma in situ (DCIS) cases) showed varying Her-2 expression as determined by IHC (HercepTest). In carcinomas, there was a good correlation between HER-2 DNA amplification and strong HER-2 protein expression detected by FISH and IHC, respectively. A single DCIS case was amplified in FISH, but not in IHC. Both HER-2 gene amplification and expression could be quantified in microdissected paraffin-embedded tumors using real-time PCR, DNA and RNA being successfully detected in 146 of 150 (97%) and 141 of 150 (94%) samples, respectively. PCR analysis for HER-2 DNA amplification using the LightCycler HER2/neu DNA Quantification kit (Roche Molecular Biochemicals, Mannheim, Germany) correlated fairly well with IHC and FISH. All IHC HER-2 3+ tumors were amplified according to the kit, as was the FISH-amplified DCIS case. DNA-PCR identified five additional tumors as being amplified. Interestingly, all these scored 2+ with the HercepTest, but were negative using FISH. We believe that real-time quantitative PCR analysis of HER-2 DNA amplification following microdissection represents a useful supplementary or perhaps even an alternative technique for establishing HER-2 status in paraffin-embedded tumors.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]