Several studies have demonstrated a survival benefit by treating breast cancer patients who are Her-2 positive with transtuzumab or lapatinib. Therefore all invasive primary breast cancer, recurrent and metastatic breast cancer should be tested for their Her-2 status. It is commonly performed using either immunohistochemistry (IHC) and/or in-situ hybridisation (ISH). The current UK recommendation for Her-2 testing are for a two tier system using IHC with reflex ISH testing if required or a one tier testing using ISH(1).
We offer both IHC and fluorescence based ISH (FISH) to determine Her-2 status in breast cancer according to national guidelines.
1. Updated UK Recommendations for HER2 assessment in breast cancer, 2015 (Rakha EA, Pinder SE, Bartlett JMS, et al. J Clin Pathol 2015;68:93–99).