her2 in cancer you've probably heard of her2-positive breast cancer but her2 plays a role in many types of cancer so what does this really mean and how might it affect your treatment the her2 gene short for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 gene provides the recipe for making the her2 protein a receptor that sits within the surface of certain cells when these receptors pair up they generate a signal that can tell a cell to divide in healthy cells this signal is regulated there are two copies of the her2 gene and they produce just the right
number of her2 receptors that the cell needs to function normally in cancer cells however the cells sometimes have extra copies of the her2 gene known as her2 gene amplification these extra genes can direct the cell to make way too many her2 receptors called her2 overexpression and sometimes the increased signaling is caused by a mutation in the her2 gene when you hear about a tumor being her2 positive it means the tumor is made up of cells with her2 gene amplification her2 overexpression or her2 mutation these changes to her2 can cause so much cell signaling the tumor
cells are constantly being triggered to divide this uncontrolled cell division can drive tumor growth drugs that target her2 receptors can stop cancer cells from dividing and some can also alert the immune system to destroy these cells if your tumor cells are found to be her2-positive your doctor may talk with you about various drugs that target her too but being her too negative does not mean there is no her2 there can be a range of her2 positivity researchers are taking a closer look at patients who would have traditionally been considered her2 negative reclassifying some of them
as her too low that's because there are new drugs being studied that can target her too in a different way if your cancer might be driven by her too ask your doctor whether your tumor was tested to learn its her2 status if it was find out what it may mean for your care if it wasn't ask whether your tumor should be sent out for biomarker testing that includes her too with new her2 drugs on the horizon researchers are rethinking who might benefit from drugs that target her too expanding hope to a broader range of patients
a message from cancer care learn more at cancercare.org you and your doctor are a team in your care this video is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice talk with your doctor to decide the right course of treatment for you you
