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Updated: Jul 10, 2026
Validated Immunochemical Assay for Comprehensive Determination of the Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 Released from and Bound to Cells
Published on: May 9, 2025
Molecular imaging of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) expression
Gang Niu1, Weibo Cai, Xiaoyuan Chen
1The Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford, Department of Radiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
Abstract:
The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) is a key member of the HER family of receptor tyrosine kinases. Activation of HER-2 affects cell growth, proliferation, migration, adhesion, and survival. Due to its crucial role in carcinogenesis and tumor progression, HER-2 has been intensively investigated as a target for cancer therapy. The ability to quantitatively image HER-2 expression in a noninvasive manner can aid in lesion detection, patient stratification, new drug development/validation, dose optimization, and treatment monitoring. This review summarizes the current state of understanding in multimodality imaging of HER-2 using positron emission tomography (PET), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), optical, and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging with HER-2 specific antibodies, antibody derivatives and affibodies as targeting ligands. Successful development of new HER-2 targeted imaging agents with optimal in vivo stability, targeting efficacy, and desirable pharmacokinetics for clinical translation will enable maximum benefit in cancer patient management.
Insights
This review covers multimodality imaging of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) for cancer therapy. Developing novel HER-2 targeted imaging agents is crucial for improved cancer patient management and treatment.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Biomedical Imaging
- Molecular Imaging
Background:
- Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) is a key receptor tyrosine kinase implicated in cancer growth and progression.
- Noninvasive quantitative imaging of HER-2 expression is vital for cancer detection, patient stratification, drug development, and treatment monitoring.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the current advancements in multimodality imaging of HER-2 expression.
- To highlight the role of various imaging techniques and targeting ligands in HER-2 targeted cancer therapy.
Main Methods:
- Review of literature on multimodality imaging techniques including Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT), optical, and Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging.
- Utilized HER-2 specific antibodies, antibody derivatives, and affibodies as targeting ligands for imaging agents.
Main Results:
- Summarizes the current understanding of HER-2 imaging using PET, SPECT, optical, and MR modalities.
- Discusses the application of various targeting ligands in conjunction with these imaging techniques.
Conclusions:
- Effective noninvasive imaging of HER-2 expression aids in various aspects of cancer management.
- Further development of HER-2 targeted imaging agents with optimal in vivo properties is essential for clinical translation and maximizing patient benefit.
