Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 4, 2025
Optimization of a Multiplex RNA-based Expression Assay Using Breast Cancer Archival Material
Published on: August 1, 2018
Examination of Low ERBB2 Protein Expression in Breast Cancer Tissue
Aileen I Fernandez1, Matthew Liu1, Andrew Bellizzi2
1Department of Pathology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
Importance:
Trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) has shown efficacy in patients with breast cancer with ERBB2 immunohistochemistry (IHC) scores of 1+ or 2+ but not 0 as read in central pathology laboratories. The drug is currently being tested in large randomized clinical trials with registration intent for this patient population.
Objective:
To determine the suitability of the current standard ERBB2 IHC assays to select patients with low ERBB2 positivity for treatment with T-DXd.
Design And Setting:
Assessment of data from College of American Pathologists surveys and assessment of analytic data from a Yale University-based study of concordance of 18 pathologists reading 170 breast cancer biopsies.
Results:
The total survey data set included scores over 2 years from 1391 to 1452 laboratories of 40 ERBB2 cores from each laboratory (20 cores twice a year for a total of 80). College of American Pathologists surveys show that 19% of cases read by the laboratories generate results with less than or equal to 70% concordance for IHC ERBB2 score 0 vs 1+. When 18 pathologists read the scanned slides from a selected set of breast cancer biopsies using a 4-point scale, there was only 26% concordance between 0 and 1+ compared with 58% concordance between 2+ and 3+.
Conclusions And Relevance:
In this study using a current standard ERBB2 IHC assay, the scoring accuracy for ERBB2 IHC in the low range (0 and 1+) was poor. This inaccuracy in the real world could lead to misassignment of many patients for treatment with T-DXd.
