Multimedia Data Management To Assist Tissue MicroArrays Design

International audienceIn oncology research, Tissue Microarray (TMA) technology allows for the mass treatment of hundreds of tissue samples and rapid visualisation of molecular targets. Since this technique is relatively new, there are very few dedicated information systems and little formalised knowledge about the technique is available. We therefore intend to set up an integrated system around TMA technology that is accessible from the Internet. In particular we intend to set up a multimedia document generation system to assist with TMA design

SATB2 in Combination With Cytokeratin 20 Identifies Over 95% of all Colorectal Carcinomas

The special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 2 (SATB2), a nuclear matrix-associated transcription factor and epigenetic regulator, was identified as a tissue type-specific protein when screening protein expression patterns in human normal and cancer tissues using an antibody-based proteomics approach. In this respect, the SATB2 protein shows a selective pattern of expression and, within cells of epithelial lineages, SATB2 expression is restricted to glandular cells lining the lower gastrointestinal tract. The expression of SATB2 protein is primarily preserved in cancer cells of colorectal origin, indicating that SATB2 could function as a clinically useful diagnostic marker to distinguish colorectal cancer (CRC) from other types of cancer. The aim of this study was to further explore and validate the specific expression pattern of SATB2 as a clinical biomarker and to compare SATB2 with the well-known cytokeratin 20 (CK20). Immunohistochemistry was used to analyze the extent of SATB2 expression in tissue microarrays with tumors from 9 independent cohorts of patients with primary and metastatic CRCs (n=1882). Our results show that SATB2 is a sensitive and highly specific marker for CRC with distinct positivity in 85% of all CRCs, and that SATB2 and/or CK20 was positive in 97% of CRCs. In conclusion, the specific expression of SATB2 in a large majority of CRCs suggests that SATB2 can be used as an important complementary tool for the differential diagnosis of carcinoma of unknown primary origin

Hardware and software requirements for quantitative analysis of comparative genomic hybridization

Applied Science

Breast and ovarian cancer risks to carriers of the BRCA1 5382insC and 185delAG and BRCA2 6174delT mutations: a combined analysis of 22 population based studies

A recent report estimated the breast cancer risks in carriers of the three Ashkenazi founder mutations to be higher than previously published estimates derived from population based studies. In an attempt to confirm this, the breast and ovarian cancer risks associated with the three Ashkenazi founder mutations were estimated using families included in a previous meta-analysis of populatrion based studies. The estimated breast cancer risks for each of the founder BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations were similar to the corresponding estimates based on all BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations in the meta-analysis. These estimates appear to be consistent with the observed prevalence of the mutations in the Ashkenazi Jewish population