Proliferating cell nuclear antigen counts in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue correlate with Ki-67 in fresh tissue
Dervan, P.A.; Magee, H.M.; Buckley, C.; Carney, D.N.
American Journal of Clinical Pathology 97(5 Suppl 1: S21-S28
1992
ISSN/ISBN: 0002-9173 PMID: 1349455 Document Number: 395026
Cell proliferation can be studied by a variety of techniques. However, most require fresh tissue. To evaluate cell proliferation in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded sections, the authors immunohistochemically studied 35 tumors and 11 samples of normal/hyperplastic tissue with PC10, a monoclonal antibody directed against proliferating cell nuclear antigen. Results were compared with those obtained with Ki-67 on fresh tissues. There was no significant difference between proliferating cell nuclear antigen and Ki-67 counts, which were strongly correlated (r = 0.8). Proliferating cell nuclear antigen positivity was easier to evaluate because morphology was better preserved in formalin-fixed tissue. The authors conclude that PC10 is an alternative to Ki-67 in evaluating cell proliferation and has the advantage of reacting with formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue.