Abstract
It is possible to estimate that every year in Europe, 20–30 million cases of tissues taken for biopsy or surgery procedures are treated, and in many hospitals multiple tissue samples are stored. These specimens are fixed as soon as possible to avoid autolysis and putrefaction, and then they are paraffin embedded to allow very thin sections to be cut for histological examination. Formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues are stored in hospital pathology archives for decades and for this reason they are called “archive tissues” (AT). This huge number of tissues represents the largest available collection of human material, which also has a very important role in translational research. In fact, AT can be used for the discovery, validation, and development of new biomarkers/therapy targets for cancer treatment, thanks to the long follow-up period that could be retrospectively available.
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Bevilacqua G, Bosman F, Dassesse T, Hofler H, Janin A, Langer R, Larsimont D, Morente MM, Riegman P, Schirmacher P, Stanta G, Zatloukal K, Caboux E, Hainaut P (2010) The role of the pathologist in tissue banking: European consensus expert group report. Virchows Arch 456(4):449–454
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© 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Stanta, G. (2011). Archive Tissues. In: Stanta, G. (eds) Guidelines for Molecular Analysis in Archive Tissues. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-17890-0_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-17890-0_1
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