rss
Mol Path 2000;53:289-294 doi:10.1136/mp.53.6.289

Microarray techniques in pathology: tool or toy?

  1. A M Snijders3,
  2. G A Meijer1,
  3. R H Brakenhoff2,
  4. A J C van den Brule1,
  5. P J van Diest1
  1. 1Department of Pathology, University Hospital “Vrije Universiteit”, Box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  2. 2Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital “Vrije Universiteit”
  3. 3Cancer Research Institute, University of California, 2340 Sutter Street, 94115, San Francisco CA, USA
  1. Dr van Diest pj.vandiest{at}azvu.nl
  • Accepted 25 May 2000

Abstract

Microarray technology allows the simultaneous analysis of up to thousands of different genes in histological or cytological specimens. Although microarray technology has so far mainly been applied in the research setting, its clinical application in pathology is expected in the foreseeable future. This paper presents an overview of the technical “ins and outs” of microarray technology, and discusses several putative applications in diagnostic pathology, which include tumour classification, the prediction of responses to certain chemotherapeutical or hormonal agents, the biological staging of tumours, the risk assessment of premalignant lesions, and the detection of microorganisms.

Footnotes