FISH numbers? I"m at Project LEAD

Melinda--

Here is post from Kate to the same question on another thread:

"There are two tests for HER-2:

IHC test (IHC stands for ImmunoHistoChemistry) The IHC test shows if there is too much HER-2 receptor protein in the cancer cells. The results of the IHC test can be 0 (negative), 1+ (negative), 2+ (borderline), or 3+

FISH test (FISH stands for Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization) The FISH test shows if there are too many copies of the HER-2 gene in the cancer cells. The results of the FISH test can be "positive" (extra copies) or "negative" (normal number of copies).

Find out which test for HER-2 you had. This is important. Only cancers that test IHC "3+" or FISH "positive" will respond well to therapy that works against HER-2. An IHC 2+ test result is called borderline. If you have a 2+ result, you can and should ask to have the tissue tested with the FISH test." End of Kate's post.

On that same thread, I noticed a response from another member stating that her doctor also said FISH is either "positive or negative; the actual numbers don't count." Her doctor recommended, instead, that she get the Oncogene test to see how aggressive the cancer might be. I was surprised by that, as my understanding has been that the Oncogene test is run only if a woman is ER or PR positive, and that it is not run for those, like so many of us, who are ER and PR negative and HER2 positive.

One other non-scientific response from me. I suspect that doctors say the FISH numbers don't count simply because they don't know if they do or they don't. Obviously, it counts if you have more than two copies of the gene, so it would seem intuitive that if you have many more copies it must mean something. I say this, knowing that I have more than double the normal, at 4.7.