HER-2 Testing

Doctors now recognize that knowing a patient's HER-2 gene status is important in understanding how to treat breast cancer.

HER-2 status is a strong, independent predictor of prognosis, and disease free progression. Certain breast cancer treatments are more effective for treating women who have an excess of the HER-2 gene. Therefore, determining a woman's HER-2 status represents a critical point for the doctor to decide how to approach a woman's therapy choices. HER-2 positive patients may respond to an anti-HER-2 therapy called Herceptin^® (trastuzumab), a targeted therapy for treating HER-2 positive breast cancer.

The risks of incorrect HER-2 status assessment are significant: false positive assessments may lead to inappropriate medical decisions, causing a patient to undergo unnecessary therapy. Conversely, a false negative assessment may deprive a patient of potentially beneficial therapy.

For more information on Herceptin®, visit www.Herceptin.com.