Changes in the her2 gene can lead to cell and tumor growth but effective treatment is available.
What does her stand for in breast cancer.
Breast cancer cells with higher than normal levels of her2 are called her2 positive.
But about 1 in 5 cases are her2 positive which means your levels are unusually high.
Her2 positive and her2 negative refer to two different types of breast cancer.
Genes contain the recipes for the various proteins a cell needs to stay healthy and function normally.
Experts consider the her2 breast cancer to be more aggressive than some other breast cancers.
This protein promotes the growth of cancer cells.
Her2 positive breast cancer is more aggressive than other types of breast cancer.
In about 1 of every 5 breast cancers the cancer cells have extra copies of the gene that makes the her2 protein.
It is also frequently called her2 from human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 or her2 neu.
The good news is that treatment for the her2 type.
In recent years there have been significant developments in the treatment of her2 positive breast cancer.
Receptor tyrosine protein kinase erbb 2 also known as cd340 cluster of differentiation 340 proto oncogene neu erbb2 rodent or erbb2 human is a protein that in humans is encoded by the erbb2 gene erbb is abbreviated from erythroblastic oncogene b a gene isolated from avian genome.
Er pr and her2 routinely available in breast cancer specimens are reliable inexpensive and useful for therapeutic decision making and the results of these tests are recorded in cancer registries allowing for population based research which make them a reasonable substitute for the more expensive molecular subtyping 8 9.
That means it may grow faster without treatment.
Her2 positive breast cancer is a breast cancer that tests positive for a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 her2.
These cancers tend to grow and spread faster than other breast cancers but are much more likely to respond to treatment with drugs that target the her2 protein.
Her2 human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 is a gene that can play a role in the development of breast cancer your pathology report should include information about her2 status which tells you whether or not her2 is playing a role in the cancer.
However it is more expensive and takes longer to get the results.
If the results are 0 or 1 the cancer is considered her2 negative.
Women with her2 negative tumors are not treated with drugs like trastuzumab that target her2.
Often the ihc test is used first.
