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Circulating levels of HER-2/neu oncoprotein in breast cancer

  • Rafael Molina EMAIL logo , Jose M. Escudero , Montse Muñoz , Jose M. Augé and Xavier Filella
Published/Copyright: January 4, 2012
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Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine
From the journal Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine Volume 50 Issue 1

Abstract

HER-2/neu, also known as c-erbB-2/neu, is an oncogene located in chromosome 17 which encodes HER-2/neu, a transmembrane protein belonging to the EGFR family. The external domain of this protein is released by the cell and can be studied in serum by immunoassay. HER-2/neu in serum is a specific tumor marker and only slight elevations may be found in the absence of malignancy, mainly in association with liver diseases. Likewise, the highest concentrations of this oncoprotein are found in patients with breast cancer, but lower concentrations may be found in other malignancies, particularly ovarian, prostate and lung cancer (mainly adenocarcinomas). HER-2/neu assay sensitivity in patients with untreated primary loco-regional breast cancer is <10% and seems to be related to overexpression in tissue as well as to the most important prognostic factors: tumor size and nodal involvement. Serial HER-2/neu determinations after surgery seem to be useful in the early diagnosis of recurrence, mainly in patients with HER-2/neu overexpression in tissue, but additional studies are necessary to confirm these results. HER-2/neu sensitivity (proportion of patients with abnormal values) in patients with metastasis is around 40%–45%, with a clear relationship to tissue overexpression and to site (higher in visceral metastases) and number of metastases. The clinical utility of HER-2/neu in patients with advanced disease is mainly for therapeutic monitoring. Likewise, in most of the studies published, a relationship has been found between serum HER-2/neu levels (either pretreatment or at follow-up) with tumor response.

Keywords: breast cancer; CA 15.3; carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA); HER-2/neu; oncoproteins; tumor markers
Corresponding author: Rafael Molina, MD, PhD, Oncobiology Unit, Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Hospital Clinic, Villarroel 170, Barcelona 08036, Spain
Received: 2011-7-25
Accepted: 2011-11-20
Published Online: 2012-01-04
Published in Print: 2012-01-01

©2011 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Editorial
  2. Targeted therapy for HER-2: personalized medicine for her, too
  3. Review
  4. Circulating levels of HER-2/neu oncoprotein in breast cancer
  5. Mini Review
  6. The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)
  7. Opinion Paper
  8. Proposed criteria for sorting examined properties in clinical laboratory reports
  9. Guidelines and Recommendations
  10. Properties and units in the clinical laboratory sciences, Part XXIII. The NPU terminology, principles and implementation –a user’s guide (Technical Report 2011) (IFCC–IUPAC)
  11. Genetics and Molecular Diagnostics
  12. Establishing high resolution melting analysis: method validation and evaluation for c-RET proto-oncogene mutation screening
  13. Decreased mRNA expression of CCL5 [RANTES] in Alzheimer's disease blood samples
  14. General Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine
  15. A risk-analysis approach to the evaluation of analytical quality
  16. C-statistics versus logistic regression for assessing the performance of qualitative diagnostic tests
  17. Detection and quantification of M-proteinemia: comparison of various methods for serum protein electrophoresis
  18. External quality assessment of point-of-care International Normalized Ratio (INR) testing in Europe
  19. Comparison of two point-of-care testing (POCT) devices for fetal lactate during labor
  20. Simultaneous quantification of 19 drugs/metabolites in urine important for pain management by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry
  21. Enzyme-linked immunoassay for plasma-free metanephrines in the biochemical diagnosis of phaeochromocytoma in adults is not ideal
  22. The old and new tests for celiac disease: which is the best test combination to diagnose celiac disease in pediatric patients?
  23. Improving diagnosis of adult-type hypolactasia in patients with abdominal complaints
  24. Synovial and serum levels of uncarboxylated matrix Gla-protein (ucMGP) in patients with arthritis
  25. The diagnostic performance of allergen-molecules in comparison to allergen-extracts
  26. Analytical performances of cystatin C turbidimetric assay: which impact on accuracy of glomerular filtration rate estimation in renal transplantation?
  27. Evaluation of Aution Max AX-4030 and 9UB Uriflet, 10PA Aution Sticks urine dipsticks in the automated urine test strip analysis
  28. Reference Values and Biological Variations
  29. Diurnal variability of total calcium during normal sleep and after an acute shift of sleep
  30. Infections Diseases
  31. Comparison of two immunoassays for determining hepatitis B virus serum markers
  32. Cardiovascular Diseases
  33. Ultra-sensitive troponin I levels to exclude acute myocardial infarction from myocardial injury
  34. Diabetes
  35. Extracellular matrix-associated (GAGs, CTGF), angiogenic (VEGF) and inflammatory factors (MCP-1, CD40, IFN-γ) in type 1 diabetes mellitus nephropathy
  36. Letters to the Editor
  37. Serum HER-2/ECD analysis in monitoring breast cancer patients
  38. No evidence for the involvement of the lipoxin A4 receptor (FPR2/ALX) gene in the susceptibility to coronary artery disease
  39. Does the presence of 3-epi-25OHD3 affect the routine measurement of vitamin D using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry?
  40. Validity of the measurement of capillary cholesterol in the diagnosis of defined hypercholesterolemia
  41. Prelims
  42. Prelims
https://doi.org/10.1515/cclm.2011.822
Keywords for this article
breast cancer; CA 15.3; carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA); HER-2/neu; oncoproteins; tumor markers

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Editorial
  2. Targeted therapy for HER-2: personalized medicine for her, too
  3. Review
  4. Circulating levels of HER-2/neu oncoprotein in breast cancer
  5. Mini Review
  6. The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)
  7. Opinion Paper
  8. Proposed criteria for sorting examined properties in clinical laboratory reports
  9. Guidelines and Recommendations
  10. Properties and units in the clinical laboratory sciences, Part XXIII. The NPU terminology, principles and implementation –a user’s guide (Technical Report 2011) (IFCC–IUPAC)
  11. Genetics and Molecular Diagnostics
  12. Establishing high resolution melting analysis: method validation and evaluation for c-RET proto-oncogene mutation screening
  13. Decreased mRNA expression of CCL5 [RANTES] in Alzheimer's disease blood samples
  14. General Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine
  15. A risk-analysis approach to the evaluation of analytical quality
  16. C-statistics versus logistic regression for assessing the performance of qualitative diagnostic tests
  17. Detection and quantification of M-proteinemia: comparison of various methods for serum protein electrophoresis
  18. External quality assessment of point-of-care International Normalized Ratio (INR) testing in Europe
  19. Comparison of two point-of-care testing (POCT) devices for fetal lactate during labor
  20. Simultaneous quantification of 19 drugs/metabolites in urine important for pain management by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry
  21. Enzyme-linked immunoassay for plasma-free metanephrines in the biochemical diagnosis of phaeochromocytoma in adults is not ideal
  22. The old and new tests for celiac disease: which is the best test combination to diagnose celiac disease in pediatric patients?
  23. Improving diagnosis of adult-type hypolactasia in patients with abdominal complaints
  24. Synovial and serum levels of uncarboxylated matrix Gla-protein (ucMGP) in patients with arthritis
  25. The diagnostic performance of allergen-molecules in comparison to allergen-extracts
  26. Analytical performances of cystatin C turbidimetric assay: which impact on accuracy of glomerular filtration rate estimation in renal transplantation?
  27. Evaluation of Aution Max AX-4030 and 9UB Uriflet, 10PA Aution Sticks urine dipsticks in the automated urine test strip analysis
  28. Reference Values and Biological Variations
  29. Diurnal variability of total calcium during normal sleep and after an acute shift of sleep
  30. Infections Diseases
  31. Comparison of two immunoassays for determining hepatitis B virus serum markers
  32. Cardiovascular Diseases
  33. Ultra-sensitive troponin I levels to exclude acute myocardial infarction from myocardial injury
  34. Diabetes
  35. Extracellular matrix-associated (GAGs, CTGF), angiogenic (VEGF) and inflammatory factors (MCP-1, CD40, IFN-γ) in type 1 diabetes mellitus nephropathy
  36. Letters to the Editor
  37. Serum HER-2/ECD analysis in monitoring breast cancer patients
  38. No evidence for the involvement of the lipoxin A4 receptor (FPR2/ALX) gene in the susceptibility to coronary artery disease
  39. Does the presence of 3-epi-25OHD3 affect the routine measurement of vitamin D using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry?
  40. Validity of the measurement of capillary cholesterol in the diagnosis of defined hypercholesterolemia
  41. Prelims
  42. Prelims
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