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Decalcification can cause the failure of BRAF molecular analyses and anti‐BRAFV600E VE1 immunohistochemistry
Author(s) -
Bourhis Amélie,
Le Flahec Glen,
Uguen Arnaud
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
pathology international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.73
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1440-1827
pISSN - 1320-5463
DOI - 10.1111/pin.12784
Subject(s) - bone decalcification , immunohistochemistry , pathology , cancer , biopsy , medicine , biology
BRAF mutation detection is worthwhile for the management of patients with some advanced cancers. The tumor samples are sometimes difficult to analyze using DNA‐based molecular methods because of poor tumor DNA quality or quantity. Anti‐BRAFV600E VE1 immunohistochemistry (IHC) has been proposed as a valuable ancillary tool to analyze some “molecularly challenging“ tumor samples. In this technical study, we focused on its application in the field of decalcified tumor samples. We selected four patients with known BRAFV600E ‐mutated cancer (3 metastatic melanomas and 1 hairy cell leukemia) and paired non‐decalcified/decalcified tumor samples. Molecular analyses failed in the four decalcified samples (3 bone metastases and 1 osteo‐medullar biopsy) with non‐contributive mutation status. Whereas non‐decalcified tumor samples were all positive using anti‐BRAFV600E VE1 IHC, the four decalcified samples were concluded negative. Because decalcified tumor samples are difficult to analyze from a molecular point of view, it is tempting to use IHC instead of DNA‐based methods searching for BRAFV600E mutations in these samples. Nevertheless, the decalcification process may also cause false‐negative results using VE1 IHC. Decalcified samples require specific and optimized IHC and molecular protocols and quality controls.