Detection of ErbB2: nanotechnological solutions for clinical diagnostics

Abstract

Clinically, overexpression of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (ErbB2) is considered to be an important hallmark for a number of solitary and metastatic cancers, and has been approved as a drug treatment target for ErbB2-positive cancers. Additionally, the soluble cleaved form of ErbB2 protein (sErbB2), found in blood, has been shown to be a valuable marker for tumour diagnosis in ErbB2-positive breast cancer. Although a variety of clinical diagnostic approaches have been developed to establish ErbB2 load, they each have their own pitfalls. Nanotechnology has offered some promising breakthrough solutions towards imaging and quantifying ErbB2 at the molecular level and holds the possibility of improving the sensitivity and reliability of ErbB2 detection for clinical purposes. Here we review the currently available methods of ErbB2 detection and quantification in biological samples, followed by analysis and evaluation of those nanotechnological approaches which have demonstrated most potential to improve clinical diagnostic practises.