Immunocytochemical detection of prognostic markers in breast cancer; technical considerations

The purpose of this study was to establish a good technical procedure for i mmunocytochemical (IC) staining of prognostic markers in breast cancer spec imens. The influence of various preparation, fixation and storage methods o n ER, P53 and Ki-67 IC staining was assessed, using cells of two breast can cer cell lines T47D (ER/P53(+)) and ZR-75-ER (ER+, P53(-)). In addition we searched for a suitable transport medium. Depending on the technical proced ure, great variations in expression of the tested antigens were found. Cyto spins fixed and stored according to the Abbott method gave the best results . Histocon appeared to be the medium of choice. A good concordance of IC an d immunohistochemical (IH) results was found when the adopted method was te sted on material of 10 breast cancers. This study underlines the importance of quality controlled standardization of cell processing, fixation and sto rage of fine needle aspiration (FNA) aspirates in order to obtain reproduci ble and consistent IC results.