Reaza Pazhoomand - D.V.M Genetics Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Elahe Keyhani - M.D Genetics Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Mehdi Banan - Ph.D Genetics Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Hossein Najmabadi - Ph.D Genetics Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran

HER2 status is an important prognostic factor in breast cancer.There is no globally accepted method for its determination. Methods: A total of 93 women with invasive breast cancer were studied. We analyzed HER2 mRNA expression by quantitative reverse transcription– PCR (qRT-PCR) and HER2 DNA amplification using multiplex ligationdependent probe amplification (MLPA). To assess the accuracy of the RTPCR and MLPA techniques, Both IHC and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were used, using FISH when the results of IHC were ambiguous (2+) and for those IHC results that disagreed with MLPA and qRT-PCR. Results: The correlations between IHC/FISH and qRT-PCR or MLPA were 0.945 and 0.973, respectively. The ASCO/CAP guideline IHC/FISH correlation with MLPA was 0.827 and with RT-PCR was 0.854. Conclusion: Given the shortcomings of IHC analysis and greater correlations between MLPA, qRT-PCR, and FISH methods, we propose that MLPA and real-time PCR are good alternatives to IHC.

Sporadic Breast Cancer, Iranian Women, HER2, MLPA, IHC, FISH, RT-PCR