Molecular methods in diagnostic pathology

Abstract

During recent years the traditional methods of pathology to analyze tissue specimens, morphology and immunohistochemistry have been increasingly enriched by molecular DNA-based techniques. Standard methods such as nucleic acid hybridization and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) have been adapted to the particular requirements of processed and stored tissues available in surgical pathology. Molecular biology provides relevant diagnostic support in: 1) the detection and identification of infectious agents; 2) the delineation of clonality in tumor-suspicious lesions; 3) the detection of clonal aberrations in cancer; and 4) the tracing of minimal tumor infiltrates. There are types of molecular analysis that already serve as routine instruments and others have at least the potential to become a standard procedure in diagnostic surgical pathology.