Automation of HER2 FISH Microscopy

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and that is why you see a lot of ribbons with the color pink in October to bring the issue of breast cancer to the center of our attention. Raising awareness about breast cancer seems essential, as breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, accounting for about 30 % of all cancer cases. Men can also get breast cancer, but breast cancer accounts for only 1% of all cancer types. Although breast cancer is common, survival rates have improved steadily in recent decades. This positive development is based on improved early detection, but also on advances in therapy.

Much is now understood about the processes in the cell that are associated with breast cancer. For example, it is known that detection of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2/neu) alterations in tumors is critical for assessing patient prognosis and equally important for predicting response to standard chemotherapy and determining eligibility for specific therapies.

Many studies have now shown that the evaluation of fluorescence signals is suitable for detecting and quantifying amplifications of the Her2/neu gene. With MetaSystems' groundbreaking algorithm, which uses the functions of the well-known Metafer software for slide scanning, the expert can be helped to accelerate and standardize the microscopic evaluation. Rapid and reliable detection of the amplification status of Her2/neu has the potential to more quickly direct patients to a therapy tailored to their individual clinical needs.

Would you like to learn more about how our scanning and imaging software Metafer has been used in the automated microscopy of HER2 FISH?

Here is a list of selected publications:

Furrer, D. et al. Validation of a new classifier for the automated analysis of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) gene amplification in breast cancer specimens. Diagn Pathol 8, (2013).

Stevens, R. et al. Analysis of HER2 gene amplification using an automated fluorescence in situ hybridization signal enumeration system. Journal of Molecular Diagnostics 9, 144–150 (2007).

Thakral, G., Wey, A., Rahman, M., Fang, R. & Lum, C. Agreement of Different Methods for Tissue Based Detection of HER2 Signal in Invasive Breast Cancer. Pathology and Oncology Research 23, 79–84 (2017).

Find more publication abstracts on our website.

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