Demystified … Molecular pathology in oncology
- Correspondence to: Professor J Crocker, Department of Histopathology, Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, Bordesley Green East, Birmingham B9 5SS, UK; crockej{at}heartsol.wmids.nhs.uk
- Accepted 6 September 2002
Abstract
In the past 10 years, molecular biology has found major applications in pathology, particularly in oncology. This has been a field of enormous expansion, where pure science has found a place in clinical practice and is now of everyday use in any academic unit. This demystified review will discuss the techniques used in molecular pathology and then provide examples of how these can be used in oncology.
- molecular pathology
- oncology
- polymerase chain reaction
- fluorescent in situ hybridisation
- Southern blotting
- microarray analysis
- CGH, comparative genomic hybridisation
- CIN, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia
- EBV, Epstein-Barr virus
- FACS, fluorescence activated cell sorter
- FISH, fluorescent in situ hybridisation
- HPV, human papillomavirus
- ISH, in situ hybridisation
- LOH, loss of heterozygosity
- NHL, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- PCR, polymerase chain reaction
- PTLD, post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders
- RT, reverse transcriptase
- SSCP, single strand conformation polymorphism analysis
