ERBB2 and cancer: HER-2/neu and topoisomerase IIα (TOPOIIα) genes are both located on chromosome 17q, and they can be co-amplified in cancer.1 Amplification of both genes has been reported in breast, prostatic, gastric, colorectal and pancreatic carcinomas.1–5HER-2/neu oncogene encodes for the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 and it is a well-known marker of poor prognosis in a variety of tumours.6,7