High concordance between two companion diagnostics tests: a concordance study between the HercepTest and the HER2 FISH pharmDx kit

Am J Clin Pathol. 2011 Jul;136(1):145-51. doi: 10.1309/AJCPJPJ8ZWGDTTWC.

Abstract

The present study was done to investigate the concordance between the HER2 status measured by immunohistochemical analysis (HercepTest, DAKO, Carpinteria, CA) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH; HER2 FISH pharmDx, DAKO) in a large study cohort (n = 681) of patients with high-risk breast cancer. A high agreement between immunohistochemical and FISH results was demonstrated. For the whole study population, the agreement between the 2 assays was 93.1% with a corresponding κ coefficient of 0.85. When the equivocal immunohistochemical 2+ cases were excluded from the analysis (n = 79), the agreement increased to 95.0% with a κ coefficient of 0.90. When the cutoff value for amplified/nonamplified cases in the HER2 FISH assay was increased from 2.0 to 2.2 as recommended in the American Society of Clinical Oncology/College of American Pathologists guidelines, the concordance between the 2 assays was 94.3% with a κ coefficient of 0.87 in the whole study population. When the equivocal immunohistochemical 2+ cases were excluded from this analysis, the concordance is similar (95.7% with a κ coefficient of 0.91).

MeSH terms

  • Biomarkers, Tumor / genetics
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / metabolism
  • Breast Neoplasms / genetics
  • Breast Neoplasms / metabolism*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immunohistochemistry / methods*
  • In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence / methods*
  • Receptor, ErbB-2 / genetics
  • Receptor, ErbB-2 / metabolism*

Substances

  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • ERBB2 protein, human
  • Receptor, ErbB-2