Abstract
The immunohistochemical detection and quantification of phosphoprotein levels can provide valuable information regarding the activation of cell signalling pathways within tumor samples, with potential implications for prognosis and treatment selection. However, phosphoprotein levels may be affected by clinical tissue handling, hypoxia and other cellular stressors prior to tissue fixation. The preservation of phosphoproteins may also heavily depend on the method of fixation. Overall, there is a need to optimise and standardise these variables to help ensure that the phosphoprotein levels detected through immunohistochemistry are in fact representative of the status of the tumor itself.
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Writing assistance was provided by Hannah FitzGibbon of Complete Medical Communications, with funding from Indivumed.
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David, K.A., Juhl, H. (2015). Immunohistochemical Detection of Phosphoproteins and Cancer Pathways. In: Lin, F., Prichard, J. (eds) Handbook of Practical Immunohistochemistry. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1578-1_8
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