Histopathology Facility

Research Inst Of Fox Chase Can Ctr, Philadelphia PA

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Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT – SHARED RESOURCE: HISTOPATHOLOGY FACILITY The Histopathology Facility (HF) provides technical and interpretative assistance to facilitate research conducted by peer-reviewed funded FCCC members. The HF was used by 56 FCCC members from 2019 to 2023 (October) from all three Research Programs. For the 12 months ending 10/31/23, 37 FCCC members used the HF, of which 84% were peer-reviewed funded investigators. The Facility is directed by Kathy Cai, MD, PhD. Dr. Cai has ample experience in human and experimental animal pathology. The Director and supporting technicians play a major support role in research projects and have contributed to 99 publications from 2019 to 2023. Most projects requiring HF support involve animal models of human cancer that require complex histological and/or cytological processing to determine morphological alterations, as well as to localize cancer-relevant gene products. The most frequently utilized services of the HF are rodent autopsy, fixation, embedding, sectioning, and staining of paraffin-embedded tissues, unstained paraffin sections for immunohistochemistry (IHC), cryomicrotomy, special stains, digital microphotography, interpretative histopathology as well as IHC scoring and image analysis. In addition, laser capture microdissection equipment and support are available. FCCC members consult with the HF pathologist and technicians to customize services such as the special orientation of tissues and embryos, serial sectioning, fine-tuning of IHC procedures with new or in-house produced antibodies, quantitative histopathology, and usage of AI or conventional image analysis, etc. These custom-made approaches with their corresponding quality control procedures are not available from commercial pathology companies. For example, all IHCs are run with their respective controls, and quality control of the sections is assured by the technicians who review each other's production carefully before submitting the microscopic slides to the Director. This service has been in place for many years and owing to the close association and collaboration between pathologists and technicians, the quality of the material produced has always been exceptional. From 2019 to 2023, the institution invested $1,089,476 in equipment and technology upgrades in the HF. For Example, the HF introduced a completely automatic immuno-stainer purchased with institutional funds. This instrument provides the HF with new capabilities to produce multiplex IHC. The institution also purchased a Hamamatsu Nanozoomer 60 scanner and Visiopharm AI image analysis software. In addition, HF acquired the Lunaphore COMET in late 2023 to develop a High-plex immunofluorescence pipeline with over 30 biomarkers. 92% of HF operating costs have been supported by a combination of an effective chargeback mechanism and institutional support during the period of 2019 to 2023. The HF is advised by an inter-programmatic Facility Advisory Committee and the Facility Planning and Oversight Committee.