In situ Analysis of DNA Abnormalities in Human Carcinoma —Approaches Using Surgical Pathology Materials—

For the researchers of basic and clinical oncology, the potential values of archival or surgical pathology materials may be comparable to that of great ruins or remains for archaeologists. However, in order to fully appreciate their potential values in the research of human malignancies, the correlation of the findings with clinicopathological features of individual lesions or patients are indispensable and only in situ approaches can satisfy this aspect. Therefore, the involvement of anatomic pathologists is indispensable to any research projects which utilize archival materials. Future technical advances may overcome current limitations of in situ DNA analysis in archival materials. However, even after this improvement, the roles of anatomic pathologists in any oncology research projects using archival materials may become more important. In addition, archived tissues should be carefully cataloged during routine pathological analysis and preserved for possible future use. Therefore, archived tissues or paraffin blocks especially those of human malignancies, must always be retained as a permanent component of the pathology file in diagnostic pathology laboratories.