Immunohisto(cyto)chemistry: an old time classic tool driving modern oncological therapies.

Immunohisto(cyto)chemistry: an old time classic tool driving modern oncological therapies. Histol Histopathol. 2018 Nov 27;:18069 Authors: Cooks T, Theodorou SD, Paparouna E, Rizou SV, Myrianthopoulos V, Gorgoulis VG, Pateras IS Abstract In the era of precision medicine immunohistochemistry (IHC) and immunocytochemistry (ICC) share some of the highlights in personalized treatment. Survival data obtained from clinical trials shape the cut-offs and IHC scoring that serve as recommendations for patient selection both for targeted and conventional therapies. Assessment of Estrogen and Progesterone Receptors along with HER2 status has been among the first approved immunostaining assays revolutionizing breast cancer treatment. Similarly, ALK positivity predicts the efficacy of ALK inhibitors in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In recent years, Programmed Death Ligand 1 (PD-L1) IHC assays have been approved as companion or complimentary diagnostic tools predicting the response to checkpoint inhibitors. Anti-PD-L1 and anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibodies have inaugurated a new period in the treatment of advanced cancers, but the path to approval of these biomarkers is filled with immunohistochemical challenges. The latter brings to the fore the significance of molecular pathology as a hub between basic and clinical research. Besides, novel markers are translated into routine practice, suggesting that we are at the beginning of a ...
Source: Histology and Histopathology - Category: Cytology Tags: Histol Histopathol Source Type: research