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Cheryl;
What the report is saying is that only a few of the cells tested showed amplification of the her2 gene. This is also why they use the term heterogeneity meaning mixed.
The report says they looked at a total of 70 interphase cells ( Non-replicating phase of cell cycle) from the tumor. In 60 of the cells (93%) there was no amplification, but in 10 of the cells (7%) they did find amplification of 5.5 eg. There were 5.5 more copies of the gene than would be expected in these 10 cells.
As I understand it, generally the high the percentage of cells showing her2 amplification the more aggressive the tumor tends to be. The fact you have a low % is a good thing, however the fact that ANY of the cells show ANY level of amplification means that you would likely benefit from herceptin. This is why sometime Dr. may use a simple postive(any cell showed amplification) or negative(no cells were amplified) FISH.
KK1
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