Enhancing HER2-low breast cancer detection with quantitative transcriptomics

Maria-Anna Misiakou; Maj-Britt Jensen; Maj-Lis Talman; Bent Ejlertsen; Maria Rossing

doi:10.1038/s41523-025-00817-9

Enhancing HER2-low breast cancer detection with quantitative transcriptomics

Maria-Anna Misiakou, Maj-Britt Jensen, Maj-Lis Talman, Bent Ejlertsen, Maria Rossing^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Accurate identification of HER2-low breast cancers remains challenging using standard IHC. We analyzed 3182 breast tumors using transcriptomics, revealing detectable ERBB2 mRNA in 86% of IHC 0 cases. Pathological complete response was most prevalent in anti-HER2-treated patients with highest ERBB2 expression. Our results demonstrate that transcriptomics can sensitively detect HER2 expression and stratify patients beyond IHC classification, supporting its use as a complementary biomarker for guiding anti-HER2 therapy decisions.

Original language	English
Article number	98
Journal	npj Breast Cancer
Volume	11
Issue number	1
Pages (from-to)	98
ISSN	2374-4677
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41523-025-00817-9
Publication status	Published - 1 Sept 2025

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abstract = "Accurate identification of HER2-low breast cancers remains challenging using standard IHC. We analyzed 3182 breast tumors using transcriptomics, revealing detectable ERBB2 mRNA in 86\% of IHC 0 cases. Pathological complete response was most prevalent in anti-HER2-treated patients with highest ERBB2 expression. Our results demonstrate that transcriptomics can sensitively detect HER2 expression and stratify patients beyond IHC classification, supporting its use as a complementary biomarker for guiding anti-HER2 therapy decisions.",

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AU - Misiakou, Maria-Anna

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AU - Talman, Maj-Lis

AU - Ejlertsen, Bent

AU - Rossing, Maria

PY - 2025/9/1

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N2 - Accurate identification of HER2-low breast cancers remains challenging using standard IHC. We analyzed 3182 breast tumors using transcriptomics, revealing detectable ERBB2 mRNA in 86% of IHC 0 cases. Pathological complete response was most prevalent in anti-HER2-treated patients with highest ERBB2 expression. Our results demonstrate that transcriptomics can sensitively detect HER2 expression and stratify patients beyond IHC classification, supporting its use as a complementary biomarker for guiding anti-HER2 therapy decisions.

AB - Accurate identification of HER2-low breast cancers remains challenging using standard IHC. We analyzed 3182 breast tumors using transcriptomics, revealing detectable ERBB2 mRNA in 86% of IHC 0 cases. Pathological complete response was most prevalent in anti-HER2-treated patients with highest ERBB2 expression. Our results demonstrate that transcriptomics can sensitively detect HER2 expression and stratify patients beyond IHC classification, supporting its use as a complementary biomarker for guiding anti-HER2 therapy decisions.

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Enhancing HER2-low breast cancer detection with quantitative transcriptomics

Abstract

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