Abstract
Background:Although there are some new criteria for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) expression with immunohistochemistry/fluorescence in situ hybridisation (IHC/FISH) in gastric cancer, the method is still ambiguous and is somewhat dependent on the subjective qualities of the evaluator.Methods:We used droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) to evaluate HER2 amplification in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples and cell-free serum circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) in 25 patients with gastric cancer.Results:The concordance rate of HER2 amplification examined in FFPE samples with ddPCR and IHC/FISH was 92% (23 out of 25). The concordance rate of FFPE with ctDNA was not high (62.5%); however, patients who were HER2-positive by ctDNA had significantly shorter survival compared with HER2-negative patients.Conclusions:Our results demonstrated that this ddPCR method was as effective as IHC/FISH and therefore might become a standard method for analysing not only FFPE but also ctDNA.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1652-1655 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | British Journal of Cancer |
Volume | 112 |
Issue number | 10 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - May 12 2015 |
Keywords
- Digital PCR
- HER2
- circulating DNA
- circulating tumour DNA
- ctDNA
- gastric cancer
- liquid biopsy
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Oncology
- Cancer Research