IImmunoHistoChemistry IHC Panel Markers

With the number of cancer cases increasing with each passing day cancer biomarkers constitutes one of the most rapidly advancing fields in clinical diagnostics.

They can be used to screen asymptomatic individuals in the general population, to assist in early and specific diagnosis in suspect cases, to select patients who may benefit from specific treatments, to predict prognosis and response to therapy and finally to monitor patients after primary therapy.

Conventional histopathology based on assessing morphology has remained the standard diagnostic method for many years. More recently, newer techniques like immuno-histochemistry have been added as valuable adjuncts to light microscopy in cancer diagnosis.

Immuno-histochemistry is a well-established technique which is of paramount importance in unclassified tumors such as undifferentiated tumors, small round blue cell tumors and lymphoid malignancies in particular. The common immunohistochemical panels used are cytokeratin for epithelial malignancies, leucocyte common antigen for lymphomas, S-100 protein for neural and neuroectodermal differentiation, HMB-45 for melanomas, Desmin and Vimentin for tumors exhibiting muscle and mesenchymal differentiation respectively. This also helps in metastatic tumors of unknown primary to direct further therapeutic decisions by delineating the origin of the tumor. Immuno-histochemistry has been utilized extensively to determine Estrogen, Progesterone and Her-2 neu receptor status in breast cancer in predicting response to therapy. Yet other antibodies directed against proteins involved in the regulation of cell cycle like Cyclin D1 and Cyclin E have been reported to be of prognostic significance in breast cancer and squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck.

We at Diagnostic BioSystems offer comprehensive IHC panels for different tumor types.

The IHC panels include rabbit monoclonals and polyclonals as well as mouse monoclonal antibodies. These antibodies ensure sensitivity and specificity of IHC tests. As a result, pathologists and oncologists can have rapid, precise results and an accurate diagnosis to determine an effective treatment for their patients.