Cancer Diagnosis Program | Biorepositories and Biospecimen Research Branch

Search BRD Papers

Delay to formalin fixation alters morphology and immunohistochemistry for breast carcinoma.

Author(s): Khoury T

Publication: Appl Immunohistochem Mol Morphol, 2012, Vol. 20, Page 531-42

PubMed ID: 22495358 PubMed Review Paper? No

Purpose of Paper

Conclusion of Paper

Studies

1. Study Purpose

   The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of cold ischemia time and temperature on histomorphology and immunohistochemical staining of 12 antigens in breast carcinoma specimens. A total of 10 specimens and 2 control cases were used for the study. Each was divided into 8 samples and subjected to the 8 different cold ischemia times. The time 0 samples were fixed after 2-5 minutes of pneumatic tube transport from the operating room to the pathology department plus the time necessary to dissect the specimen into 8 equal parts. Tissue was held in saline solution for all experimental cold ischemia durations which were carried out at room temperature except for the overnight delay which was at 4 degrees C.

   Summary of Findings:

   General histomorphologic alterations were observed in specimens beginning after 2 hours of cold ischemia time and increasingly observed with longer cold ischemia times. 8 of 10 specimens subjected to overnight cold ischemia at 4 degrees C showed histomorphologic alterations while 7 of 10 showed alterations after 8 h of room temperature cold ischemia. Cold ischemia time had antigen specific effects as Ki-67 and p53 (nuclear markers) and cytoplasmic marker immunostaining were not significantly affected, even after overnight at 4 degrees C, while E-cadherin and EGFR (membranous markers) showed significant declines beginning at 2 hours of cold ischemia.

   Biospecimens

   • Tissue - Breast

   Preservative Types

   • Formalin

   Diagnoses:

   • Neoplastic - Carcinoma

   Platform:

   Analyte	Technology Platform
   Morphology	H-and-E microscopy
   Morphology	Tissue microarray
   Protein	Immunohistochemistry
   Protein	Tissue microarray

   Pre-analytical Factors:

   Classification	Pre-analytical Factor	Value(s)
   Biospecimen Acquisition	Cold ischemia time	0 min 10 min 30 min 1 h 2 h 4 h 8 h Overnight
   Storage	Storage temperature	Room temperature 4 degrees C
   Immunohistochemistry Specific	Targeted peptide/protein	EGFR Ki-67 p53 AE 1/3 CAM-5.2 EMA CK7 CK 5/6 CK 14 E-cadherin GCDFP-15 Mammaglobin

   View more