PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Gebhart, Geraldine
AU  - Flamen, Patrick
AU  - De Vries, Elisabeth G.E.
AU  - Jhaveri, Komal
AU  - Wimana, Zena
TI  - Imaging Diagnostic and Therapeutic Targets: Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2
AID  - 10.2967/jnumed.115.157941
DP  - 2016 Feb 01
TA  - Journal of Nuclear Medicine
PG  - 81S--88S
VI  - 57
IP  - Supplement 1
4099  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/57/Supplement_1/81S.short
4100  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/57/Supplement_1/81S.full
SO  - J Nucl Med2016 Feb 01; 57
AB  - Since the approval of trastuzumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody against the extracellular domain of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), 3 other HER2-targeting agents have gained regulatory approval: lapatinib, pertuzumab, and trastuzumab–emtansine. These agents have revolutionized the management of HER2-positive breast cancer, highlighting the concept that targeted therapies are successful when patients exhibit tumor-selective expression of a molecular target—in this case, HER2. However, response prediction and innate or acquired resistance remain serious concerns. Predictive biomarkers of a response—which could help in the selection of patients who might benefit from a selected targeted therapy—are currently lacking. Molecular imaging with anti-HER2 probes allows the noninvasive, whole-body assessment of HER2 tumor burden and has the potential to improve patient selection, optimize the dose and schedule, and rationalize assessment of the response to anti-HER2 therapies. Furthermore, unlike biopsy-based HER2 assessment, this approach can reveal inter- or intratumoral heterogeneity as well as variations in HER2 expression over time. This review summarizes the available literature and the current status of molecular imaging as a tool for the assessment of HER2 (target) expression or the prediction of an early treatment response in early and advanced HER2-positive breast cancer.