H&E to IHC virtual staining methods in breast cancer: an overview and benchmarking

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Pascal Klöckner, José Teixeira, Diana Montezuma, João Fraga, Hugo M. Horlings, Jaime S. Cardoso, Sara Pires de Oliveira

Published: 2025, Last Modified: 02 Mar 2026npj Digit. Medicine 2025EveryoneRevisionsBibTeXCC BY-SA 4.0
Abstract: Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is crucial for the clinical categorisation of breast cancer cases. Deep generative models may offer a cost-effective alternative by virtually generating IHC images from hematoxylin and eosin samples. This review explores the state-of-the-art in virtual staining for breast cancer biomarkers (HER2, PgR, ER and Ki-67) and benchmarks several models on public datasets. It serves as a resource for researchers and clinicians interested in applying or developing virtual staining techniques.