The Potential Use of DCE-MRI Texture Analysis to Predict HER2 2+ Status

Conclusion: The texture analysis for breast DCE-MRI proposed in this study demonstrated potential utility in HER2 2+ status discrimination. Background Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is an orphan tyrosine kinase receptor. It is reported that HER2 is overexpressed in 15–20% of breast cancers. Overexpression of HER2 in breast cancer correlates with shortened disease-free survival. Compared with HER2-negative patients, patients with HER2-positive breast cancers have a poor prognosis, a high probability of lymph node metastasis and a high risk of recurrence (1–3). However, previous studies have demonstrated that patients with HER2-positive breast cancers have a favorable clinical response to trastuzumab (4, 5). It is therefore critical to determine the HER2 status of a patient for treatment selection as well as for predicting therapeutic response. Two methods have been adopted in the field for detecting HER2 status: immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). HER2 expression is typically divided into four categories: 0, 1+, 2+, 3+. For HER2 IHC measurements, a score of 0 or 1+ are considered negative, and a score of 3+ is considered positive. For HER2 2+ cases, IHC cannot be used to confirm this status, and HER2 2+ status must instead be tested using FISH (6, 7). However, the FISH assay is typically cost-prohibitive. In addition, further testing is time-consuming and often can de...
Source: Frontiers in Oncology - Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: research