Additional Tests
If you are diagnosed with cancer, your doctor may order special lab tests on
the breast tissue that was removed. These tests help your doctor learn more
about the cancer and plan treatment:
-
Hormone receptor test:
This test shows whether the tissue has certain hormone
receptors. Tissue with these receptors needs hormones (estrogen
or
progesterone) to grow.
-
HER2
test: This test shows whether the tissue has a protein called human
epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) or the
HER2/neu
gene. Having too much
protein or too many copies of the gene in the tissue may increase the chance
that the breast cancer will come back after treatment.
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