Jornal de Histologia Molecular e Fisiologia Médica

The Use of Molecular Histology in the Investigation of Solid Tumors

Abstract

Andrew Perry

In human cancer, dominant oncogenes and tumor suppressor gene mutations are critical occurrences. Many molecular methods, including single-strand conformational polymorphism, polymerase chain reaction, cloning, and sequencing, are employed to detect these anomalies, however, the biological significance of these alterations is not always obvious. Immunohistochemistry (ICH) or western blotting of aberrant gene products can reveal information about their cellular localization and expression in neoplastic vs normal cells, as well as a hint regarding their function. For example, ICH has demonstrated that deletion of the intercellular adhesion molecule E-cadherin, or aberrant localization from the cell membrane to the cytoplasm, is associated with a widespread tumor phenotype and a poor clinical prognosis.