WHAT IS IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY?
Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is a laboratory technique used to visualise cellular or tissue constituents using a fluorescence or chromogenic labelled antibody. Over the past 70 years IHC methodologies have evolved greatly to allow the identification of specific or highly selective cellular epitopes in formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissue samples, utilising an antibody and labelling system. Diagnostic laboratories have the ability to perform panels of antibody tests to deduce diagnoses, prognosis and predictive information which has huge patient benefit.
Why is immunohistochemistry so important?
IHC has a wide range of applications including but limited to; identifying the primary tumour in an unknown metastatic setting, identifying micro-organisms, to distinguish between invasive and in-situ pathology, identifying patients of potential targeted therapies, provide prognostic information, highlight inflammatory cells, evaluating cell cycle activation and apoptotic pathways.
References
Suvarna, S., 2013. Bancroft's Theory And Practice Of Histological Techniques Consult. 7th ed: Churchill Livingstone, Elsevier, p.381.
Orchard, G. and Nation, B., 2012. Histopathology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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Useful websites
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