Extreme loss of immunoreactive p-Akt and p-Erk1/2 during routine fixation of primary breast cancer.

Author(s): Pinhel IF, Macneill FA, Hills MJ, Salter J, Detre S, A'hern R, Nerurkar A, Osin P, Smith IE, Dowsett M

Publication: Breast Cancer Res, 2010, Vol. 12, Page R76

PubMed ID: 20920193 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 surgical procedure type on IHC staining in breast cancer specimens.

   Summary of Findings:

   Needle core biopsy specimens with an average room temperature cold ischemia time of 30 min (range 20-80 min) showed no significant differences in Ki67, ER, PR, p-Akt, p-Erk1/2, or HER2 IHC staining when compared to core-cuts that were fixed immediately. Comparison of needle core biopsy specimens (all cold ischemia times) with resection specimens showed comparable immunostaining for Ki67 and PR with a nonsignificant trend towards decreased staining for ER in resection specimens (p=0.06). While HER2 status was not influenced by the type of specimen, 12 of 15 specimens were graded as 1+ in the core-cut and a 0 in the resection. Significantly lower p-Akt and p-Erk1/2 immunostaining was observed in resected specimens than in core-cut specimens (p<0.0001). Interestingly, the average differences in staining were greater between core-cut and mastectomy specimens than core-cut and lumpectomy specimens, but this was only significant for p-Erk1/2 (p=0.01). Notably, mastectomy specimens were sliced prior to fixation to allow for penetration of formalin while lumpectomy specimens were left unsliced.

   Biospecimens

   • Tissue - Breast

   Preservative Types

   • Formalin

   Diagnoses:

   • Neoplastic - Carcinoma

   Platform:

   Analyte	Technology Platform
   Protein	Immunohistochemistry

   Pre-analytical Factors:

   Classification	Pre-analytical Factor	Value(s)
   Biospecimen Acquisition	Cold ischemia time	0 min 20-80 min
   Immunohistochemistry Specific	Targeted peptide/protein	ER PR p-Akt p-Erk1/2 Ki67 HER2
   Biospecimen Acquisition	Method of tissue acquisition	Core needle biopsy Surgical resection Mastectomy Lumpectomy

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