[Histonet] FW: ATRT delay in formalin fixation

[Cooper, Brian]

Good afternoon Histonet,

We got a complaint from one of our researchers this morning about loss of antigenicity on an FFPE sample. According to the researcher "the pERK antigen in tissue is labile if not fixed right away, hence trying to find if the samples which are negative are truly negative or could be a factor of time to fixing.   She's hypothesized that it's likely due to a delay in formalin fixation from the time of removal from the patient.

When we perform frozen sections, the tissue that's removed sits in a petri dish fresh until the decision is made on how to proceed with the sample.  By the time frozen samples are prepared and tissue is set aside for ancillary studies, it can be as long as 30 minutes until the remaining tissue is placed in formalin.  Have any of you had complaints of antigenicity loss due to this delay?  We've only had one researcher make this complaint, and it's only on cases of AT/RT.  None of our pathologists have noticed this phenomenon.  Is this exclusive for this "pERK antigen"?

Thanks,

Brian D. Cooper, HT (ASCP)CM | Histology Supervisor
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
4650 Sunset Blvd MS#43- Los Angeles, CA 90027
Ph: 323.361.3357     Pager: 213-209-0184
bcooper <@t> chla.usc.edu<mailto:bcooper <@t> chla.usc.edu>



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