HER2 Support Group Forums - View Single Post - What is the FISH test and Why Would Someone Have It Done?

08-01-2003, 01:28 AM

Comments by Susan Love MD include:

"Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles recently reported the results of a study that put the FISH and the IHC tests head-to-head in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The researchers performed both an IHC test and a FISH test on tumor samples from more than 850 women with stage I II or III breast cancer. When they compared the results they found that the IHC test produced a number of false positive tests. This meant that the IHC test showed the woman's tumor to be HER2/neu positive making her eligible for Herceptin when it really wasn't. When the same tumor was tested with the FISH method however it came up negative for HER2/neu overexpression indicating that Herceptin was not an appropriate treatment option."

08-01-2003, 01:28 AM	#1
Paul C. Guest Posts: n/a	Comments by Susan Love MD include: "Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles recently reported the results of a study that put the FISH and the IHC tests head-to-head in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The researchers performed both an IHC test and a FISH test on tumor samples from more than 850 women with stage I II or III breast cancer. When they compared the results they found that the IHC test produced a number of false positive tests. This meant that the IHC test showed the woman's tumor to be HER2/neu positive making her eligible for Herceptin when it really wasn't. When the same tumor was tested with the FISH method however it came up negative for HER2/neu overexpression indicating that Herceptin was not an appropriate treatment option."