Differential prognostic value of positive HER2 status determined by immunohistochemistry or fluorescence in situ hybridization in breast cancer

Purpose Human epidermal growth factor-receptor-2 (HER2) is a membrane-tyrosine-kinase that is amplified/overexpressed up to 20% in breast cancer. HER2 positive status is associated with faster disease progression, higher metastatic potential, and shorter disease-free/overall survival and also has emerged as an important therapeutic target in breast cancer. HER2 status can be determined by in-situ-hybridization (ISH) or immunohistochemistry (IHC). Although the concordance rate between ISH and IHC is well-known, the prognostic power of both technologies if tested in parallel on the same tumor has not been studied extensively. Methods In this study we retrospectively analyzed a large HER2 positive breast cancer cohort tested both with fluorescence labeled ISH (FISH) and IHC in parallel on each case. We stratified HER2 positive results by FISH and IHC with long-term overall survival, 5-year survival and metastases/recurrence rates. Positive HER2 status both FISH and IHC was available in 364 patients. Results The number of HER2 FISH-positive and FISH-negative patients was 342 and 22, respectively. The number of HER2 IHC 0/1 + , IHC 2 + , and IHC 3 + patients was 12, 42, and 310, respectively. Among the patients with IHC 3 + status, 288 were FISH-positive and 22 FISH-negative. HER2 status determined by FISH correlated with clinical outcomes (overall survival and with metastases/recurrence, p = 0.036, p = 0.039), whereas HER2 status determined by IHC did not. Conclusion Our results indicate that prognostic information in HER2 positive breast cancer also depends on the methodology of how positivity was determined. In our cohort, FISH was superior to IHC based positive HER2 status.