The role of the pathology department in the preanalytical phase of molecular analyses

Abstract

After introducing the new molecules for the treatment of patients with tumoral pathology, the therapeutical decision will be taken depending on the molecular profile performed upon the harvested tissues. This major modification makes the molecular and morphological analysis an essential part in the clinical management of patients and the pathologist plays an important role in this process. The quality and reproducibility of the results are imperative today and they depend on both the reliability of the molecular techniques and the quality of the tissue we use in the process. Also, the genomics and proteomics techniques, used increasingly often, require high-quality tissues, and pathology laboratories play a very significant role in the management of all phases of this process. In this paper the parameters which must be followed in order to obtain optimal results within the techniques which analyze nucleic acids and proteins were reviewed.

Detection methods for SARS-CoV-2 in tissue

“…Ischemia time was not reported in any of 38 studies on non-autopsy material (skin or kidney biopsies, resected specimens, and placenta). The duration of formalin fixation, which affects RNA integrity [48], was reported in few studies and ranged from 1.5 h to 10 days (Table S1).…”

Avoiding non-contributive molecular results in cancer samples: proposal of a score-based approach for sample choice

“…preanalytical factors as ischemia and fixation durations, tissue storage conditions, decalcification, dehydratation and paraffin embedding processes but also some proper features of the sample as its content in terms of percentage of tumor cells, its size, the presence of polymerase chain reaction inhibitors as melanin for example. [4][5][6][7] The optimal conditions to get the most efficient molecular analyses are the subject of dedicated-guidelines but, in daily practice, it is very difficult in a qualityprocess to efficiently monitor as many indicators as there are numerous potential sources of molecular analyses failure. 4,5,[7][8][9][10] In this manner, on the basis of simple criteria assessable at the time of sample choice by a pathologist, we have attempted to identify a strategy to minimize the risk of 9 choosing a sample with non contributive molecular result.…”

Nachweismethoden von SARS-CoV-2 in Gewebe

“…Die Ischämiezeit wurde in keiner von 38 Studien an Nicht-Obduktionsmaterial angegeben (Haut- oder Nierenbiopsate, Resektate, Plazenta). Die Dauer der Formalinfixierung, die sich auf die RNA-Integrität auswirkt [ 48 ] wurde in wenigen Studien angegeben und lag zwischen 1,5 h und 10 Tagen (Tab. 1, Zusatzmaterial online).…”