Application of Immunohistochemical Methods in the Diagnosis of Malignant Disease

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Abstract
For over a century histopathological diagnosis was firmly based upon the examination of hematoxylin and eosin-stained tissue sections with the occasional use of various “special stains,” introduced as an aid to the “routine” staining. Recently, histopathologists have turned their attention to identifying cells, including tumor cells, by immunohistological staining methods. As this approach relies upon the detection of cellular antigens with specific antibodies, much of the inherent subjectivity of cellular recognition by orthodox staining is avoided. The approach facilitates the identification and classification of tumor cells and the detection of small metastatic foci in biopsy material from various sites including the lymph nodes, bone marrow, and cytologic preparations from body fluids or smears. Immunohistological methods, especially the immunoperoxidase method with its rapid growth in acceptance by the surgical pathologist, will be discussed in some detail. The method stems from a combination of two existing and well-established techniques, neither of which are new. The final phase of the immunoperoxidase reaction is a direct exploitation of histochemical methods for the demonstration of enzymatic activity of peroxidase, while the theoretical basis of the peroxidase-labelled antibody technique is strictly analogous to the immunofluorescence method.