Bioinformatics analyst recognized for potential enhancement to HER2 gene detection

Srikrishna Narava, a senior bioinformatics analyst at Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research’s Molecular Characterization Laboratory, received an honorable mention for a poster and abstract comparing traditional and next-generation methods for detecting HER2 gene amplification, a key biomarker in multiple cancers.  

The Technologist Poster Award, bestowed upon Narava and other outstanding recipients by the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP), recognizes “the best abstracts submitted by AMP members who are nondoctoral technologists or medical technologists,” according to the association’s website. 

Narava and his colleagues’ poster and abstract suggest that circulating tumor DNA assays are as effective as immunohistochemistry based assays at detecting HER2 gene amplification in late-stage cancer patients. 

ctDNA assays are newer methods that analyze tumor DNA fragments in blood, requiring a simple blood draw. Immunohistochemistry is considered the current gold standard but requires a tissue biopsy. 

“We are sharing these findings with the community to demonstrate how newer technologies can improve detection of clinically relevant cancer biomarkers, such as HER2 amplification, to better guide patient treatment,” Narava said. “This work was made possible through the support of Dr. Shahanawaz Jiwani and our collaborative team.” 

Next-generation sequencing results match biopsy analyses 

HER2 amplification is best known for its role in some breast cancers but also occurs in several other cancer types. Because many targeted therapies are linked to HER2 status, accurate detection of this biomarker is critical for selecting an appropriate clinical treatment. 

The poster and abstract analyze biopsy data from 36 patients with advanced-stage cancers, stratified by HER2 status. The analysis compares immunohistochemical findings with next-generation-sequencing-based analysis of tumor tissue and circulating tumor DNA from blood plasma samples, measuring the accuracy with which the platforms could detect HER2 amplification. 

All three approaches demonstrated near-perfect agreement in detecting HER2 amplification, Narava and colleagues found. 

While the sample size of 36 patients is small, the breadth of their cancer types gives scientists helpful insight across different malignancies. 

“This is very rich data because of multiple cancer types, and the analysis demonstrates how the plasma-based NGS [next-generation sequencing] assay can be applied across different types of cancers to assess HER2 amplification status,” Narava said. 

The analysis also evaluated changes in HER2 amplification over time in serial blood samples from patients treated with trastuzumab-deruxtecan, a targeted antibody–drug pair used to treat some cancers with high or low HER2 levels. Using a plasma-based assay to monitor increases or decreases in HER2 amplification, Narava and colleagues could infer treatment-associated changes in patients’ tumors without having to take repeat tissue biopsies for immunohistochemical detection. 

The findings suggest that the plasma-based sequencing assay represents a way to detect HER2 amplification in patients’ diagnosed with cancer, but without perfmorming a biopsy. In the future, this approach has the potential to offer a faster, less invasive alternative for HER2 assessment, Narava said. 

The study was performed as a collaboration between Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research’s Molecular Characterization Laboratory, where Narava and Jiwani work; the National Cancer Institute’s Developmental Therapeutics Clinic; Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.; and MD Anderson Cancer Center. The collection of samples and administration of treatments occurred through the National Cancer Institute’s Experimental Therapeutics Clinical Trials Network. 

Award is source of encouragement 

Narava presented the poster at the AMP 2025 Annual Meeting & Expo, where judges scored it across criteria comprising originality, scientific rigor, presentation, and the quality of Narava’s oral explanation. 

“I was very happy and excited to share these results because the judges [have] also worked on this kind of work [pathology and sequencing studies] before,” Narava said. 

The honorable mention for the poster is the first scientific award Narava has won, apart from a technologist travel award he received in 2023. 

Receiving the honorable mention “was even more special because this is very comprehensive data, and so they’re judging based off of the amount of work we have done,” he said. 

“Recognition from the community is deeply encouraging and motivates us to continue advancing science that directly benefits patients,” he added. 

Narava and colleagues plan to perform further analyses and publish the results.