What is HER2 positive mean? | Breast Cancer Survival Blog

What is HER2 positive mean?
Breast cancer biopsy-Invasive lobular carcinoma-HER2 positive 65%

Answer by TweetyBird
Sweetheart, are you ready? This is bad. HER2 positive cancers are very aggressive. Since you?re asking, my guess is this is a biopsy report for someone you know and not for yourself. Go to that woman and talk to her.

Answer by Pattie
breast cancer that tests positive for a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2), which promotes the growth of cancer cells. In about one of every three breast cancers, the cancer cells make an excess of HER2 due to a gene mutation. This gene mutation can occur in many types of cancer ? not only breast cancer.

HER2-positive breast cancers tend to be more aggressive than other types of breast cancer. They?re also less responsive to hormone treatment.

**I was diagnosed, last year, and had a double lumpectomy. I was HER 2+. What a 40th birthday present I received! (I try to have a sense of humor!).

I hope this helps.

Hugs,

Pattie

Answer by going-to-light
HER2/neu (also known as ErbB-2) is a member of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) family and is notable for its role in the pathogenesis of breast cancer and as a target of treatment. It is a cell membrane surface-bound tyrosine kinase and is involved in the signal transduction pathways leading to cell growth and differentiation.

HER2 is a proto-oncogene located at the long arm of human chromosome 17

Twenty to forty percent of breast cancers have an amplification of the HER2/neu gene or overexpression of its protein product. Overexpression of this receptor in breast cancer is associated with increased disease recurrence and worse prognosis. Because of its prognostic role as well as its ability to predict response to trastuzumab (see below), breast tumors are routinely checked for overexpression of HER2/neu. Overexpression also occurs in other cancer such as ovarian cancer and stomach cancer.

The oncogene neu is so-named because it was derived from a neuroglioblastoma cell line in rat. HER2 is named because it has similar structure to human epidermal growth factor receptor, or HER. ErbB2 was named for its similarity to ErbB (avian erythroblastosis oncogene B), the oncogene later found to code for EGFR. Gene cloning showed that neu, HER2, and ErbB2 were the same.

Clinically, HER2/neu is important as the target of the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab (marketed as Herceptin). Trastuzumab is only effective in breast cancer where the HER2/neu receptor is overexpressed.

HER2 is co-localized, and thus most of the time co-amplified with the gene GRB7, which is as well a proto-oncogene (active in e.g. breast cancer, testicular germ cell tumour, gastric cancer, and esophageal cancer).

The HER2 gene overexpression can be suppressed by the amplification of other genes and the use of the drug Herceptin. Research is currently being conducted to discover which disregulated genes may have this desired effect.

Answer by BriteHope
Yes, it does mean that the cancer is more aggressive, but it also means that you can get the antibody Herceptin, which can reduce your risk of recurrence by 50%. It?s a double edge sword really, but I am HER2+ and ER+ and found the fact that I could do Herceptin a relief. I wanted to do everything I could to fight breast cancer.

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