What does FISH mean in breast cancer?

What does FISH mean in breast cancer?

Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is a test that “maps” the genetic material in a person’s cells. This test can be used to visualize specific genes or portions of genes. FISH testing is done on breast cancer tissue removed during biopsy to see if the cells have extra copies of the HER2 gene.

What does HER2 FISH mean?

The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) gene is responsible for producing HER2 proteins. HER2 proteins are present on the surface of some breast cancer cells.

What does a negative FISH result mean?

FISH testing usually returns one of two results: positive or negative. Positive means your breast cancer cells make too much HER2 and your doctor should treat you with drugs that target that protein. Negative means the protein isn’t involved in the growth of your tumor.

What does FISH negative mean?

How accurate is FISH test for Down syndrome?

Interphase FISH for detection of the common aneuploidies misses about 30% of all chromosome abnormalities detectable by standard cytogenetics even with 100% accuracy of the test.

What does negative FISH mean?

How accurate is FISH report?

Accuracy and limitations. Prenatal interphase FISH testing is highly accurate, with reported false-positive and -negative rates usually less than 1%. The main problem, however, is that not all specimens are informative. Uninformative rates will vary among laboratories, but rates of 3% to 10% are considered typical.

What does HER2 stand for?

You may be wondering what it means to have HER2-negative or HER2-positive breast cancer. HER2 stands for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2. It was discovered in the 1980s.

What does HER2 positive mean?

If the tissue was diagnosed as HER2 -positive, that means that your cancer produced too much of a growth-promoting protein. About 15% of the 268,000 women living in the U.S. diagnosed with breast…

How is HER2 FISH testing for breast cancer interpreted?

This test can be used to visualize specific genes or portions of genes. FISH testing is done on breast cancer tissue removed during biopsy to see if the cells have extra copies of the HER2 gene. The more copies of the HER2 gene that are present, the more HER2 receptors the cells have.

What is HER2 FISH testing?

The FISH (fluorescence in situ hybridization) test checks the DNA of your cancer cells for extra copies of the HER2/neu gene. This gene makes proteins called HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) that attach to the surface of all breast cells. In healthy tissue, the proteins help cells grow, divide, and do repairs.