Negative HER2/neu Amplification Using Immunohistochemistry and Chromogenic in Situ Hybridization Techniques in Skin Melanoma Cases

Background: This study was performed to evaluate the amplification of HER-2/neu in patients with melanoma.Materials and
Methods: Amplification of HER-2/neu was evaluated in a group of patients with melanoma, referredto two referral centers in Tehran, using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and chromogenic in situ hybridization(CISH) techniques.
Results: Forty patients with mean age 57.9±19.5 years were enrolled in this study. The mostfrequent type of melanoma was acral, while lower limbs were the most frequent sites. The amplification of HER2/neu was negative in 97.5% of patients with IHC and in 100% of patients with CISH technique. Only one case(2.5%) shows weak positive staining (+2) in IHC method. Fifty five percent of melanoma was ulcerative, and themost common stages of tumors were stages 4b and 3b. More than 47% of cases were in Clark level III, while themean of Breslow thickness was 3.56±2.87 mm. The stage of the case that showed weakly positive staining (2+) inIHC was 4b.
Conclusions: The amplification of HER2/neu biomarker was negative in patients with melanoma,using both CISH and IHC techniques.