In everyday practice, pathologists often have to face the challenging task of labeling primary and secondary malignancies, sometimes on a small amount of cells/tissue, in order to provide diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive information to guide patients’ treatment and follow-up. A correct diagnosis results from collecting, analyzing, and perceiving relevant clinical data along with peculiar morphological features, and in the modern era. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) plays a pivotal role in this process, by assessing the presence or absence of tissue markers in tumor cells at light microscopy, employing the high affinity of a given antibody to its antigen. In this setting, the choice of the most suitable antibodies is meant to confirm or rebut the suspected diagnosis, and must rely on the knowledge of their specific patterns of expression, within a rational algorithm including both first-line and second-line markers. First-line antibodies are used to screen the major tumor categories, and classified accordingly as epithelial, mesenchymal, neuroendocrine, melanocytic, and lymphoid markers. Since no marker is 100% sensitive and specific for a given tumor, current protocols recommend to use panels of selected antibodies. The aim of this chapter is to delineate the most common scenarios in which IHC may be useful, with its inherent advantages and related issues, in order to diagnose primary and secondary cancers.
Immunohistochemistry in the Diagnosis of Primary and Secondary Cancers
Sanguedolce Francesca;
2023-01-01
Abstract
In everyday practice, pathologists often have to face the challenging task of labeling primary and secondary malignancies, sometimes on a small amount of cells/tissue, in order to provide diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive information to guide patients’ treatment and follow-up. A correct diagnosis results from collecting, analyzing, and perceiving relevant clinical data along with peculiar morphological features, and in the modern era. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) plays a pivotal role in this process, by assessing the presence or absence of tissue markers in tumor cells at light microscopy, employing the high affinity of a given antibody to its antigen. In this setting, the choice of the most suitable antibodies is meant to confirm or rebut the suspected diagnosis, and must rely on the knowledge of their specific patterns of expression, within a rational algorithm including both first-line and second-line markers. First-line antibodies are used to screen the major tumor categories, and classified accordingly as epithelial, mesenchymal, neuroendocrine, melanocytic, and lymphoid markers. Since no marker is 100% sensitive and specific for a given tumor, current protocols recommend to use panels of selected antibodies. The aim of this chapter is to delineate the most common scenarios in which IHC may be useful, with its inherent advantages and related issues, in order to diagnose primary and secondary cancers.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
