Gastric Her2
The EMEA has recently granted Herceptin European wide approval
for use in metastatic gastric cancer.
The GASTRIC HER2 test is more complex than the standard HER2
test for breast cancer and Source Bioscience are the only
laboratory in the country offering this test today.
Her2 testing in gastric cancer Validated
methods and scoring systems to ascertain HER2 status in breast
cancer using immunohistochemistry (IHC) or in situ
hybridisation (ISH) are well established. Recent evidence suggests
that these same techniques, with some minor modifications, may be
equally valid for assessing HER2 status in gastric cancer.1
In comparison to HER2-testing of breast tissue, gastric tissue
typically exhibits a higher level of incomplete membrane staining.
Special aspects of HER2 staining in gastric
cancer
Based on histological differences between gastric and breast
tumours, an international consensus meeting recommended minor
changes to the HercepTest™ IHC HER2-scoring system to enable its
use in gastric cancer.1 When using the modified scoring system, the
concordance between IHC and fluorescence ISH for assessing
HER2-positive gastric tumours was over 90%
