Er/pr/her 2 test

[Subhash1951]

My daughter having breast cancer. Not metastatic. Chemo and partial surgery has been done. Wht is the need of er/pr/her 2 test. Pls advice.

[sumeet_shah Administrator]

This should help you:

cancer.net/research-and-adv...

I personally feel, you need to talk to your Oncologist as well.

[kaarenorgaard]

The short version:

These 3 Receptors determine what medication to treat the breast cancer with, other than chemo therapy:

* If it is ER positive or PR positive (Estrogen and Progesterone Receptors positive, respectively) then it responds to hormones. And it should be treated with anti-hormone treatment for 5 years (or more). If she is pre-menopausal, the drug is Tamoxifen, if she is post-menopausal, the drug is either Tamoxifen or one of the class of "Aromatase Inhibitors". Aromatase Inhibitors try to remove the hormone Estrogen altogether, and they are only used, if the ovaries have stopped (she is post-menopausal). Since they are considered slightly more effective than Tamoxifen, then sometimes a pre-menopausal gets the ovaries temporarily shut down, so she can have an Aromatase Inhibitor. This therapy starts after the completion of the chemo therapy

* If it is HER2 positive (independently of the above), she must have Trastuzumab (in Herceptin or one of its equivalents) for a year - unless certain conditions that are seen on Herceptin.com. This treatment is typically started while the chemo therapy is undertaken.

This is because it is inevitable that some cancer cells have escaped the surgery and are in various parts of the body - and this medication may assist the chemo therapy in killing them.

In order to be more precise, we will need information such as (1) the size of the tumor, (2) whether it infected lymph nodes and if so, how many, (3) her age, (4) menopausal state (cf, above). Or you can use the site

CureGPS.org

free of charge to see what the guidelines say. It is rather complicated stuff (because the guidelines are complex), but answers the above as a part.

The test you mention for ER, PR, and HER2 you must have as well, it is important in any case.

Good luck,

Kaare (from Denmark)

[Prasath_sas]

ER/PR/HER 2 test will help in identifying which type of hormones does the cancer is taking for its growth,so it is very important to take this test and check the hormone receptor status.Based on the results your onc. will suggest for hormonal therapy(taking tablets orally) to reduce the risk of cancer relapse in future.