Purpose: Modified agar pre-embedded paraffin embedding method was proposed to evaluate the effects on tissue integrity, histological morphology, protein and DNA detection in small specimens of core needle biopsies.
Methods: The core needle biopsy specimens of 10 patients with oral mucosal squamous cell carcinoma were subjected to modified agar pre-embedded paraffin embedding using molded embedding molds and conventional paraffin embedding respectively, the dehydration time of the former was 3.5 h and that of the latter was 12 h. After tissue treatment, H-E staining, histological morphology, immunohistochemistry (IHC), and DNA fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were performed, respectively. The results were compared and analyzed using GraphPad Prism 9 software package.
Results: The modified agar pre-embedding method was less difficult to perform than the agar pre-embedding method, and easier to be promoted. Compared with conventional paraffin embedding method, the tissue dehydration time was significantly reduced(P＜0.001), and the results of microscopic histological morphology and subsequent IHC and FISH assays were reliable.
Conclusions: The modified agar pre-embedded paraffin embedding method meets the requirements of clinical pathological diagnosis for tissue processing, and is worthy of clinical application for core needle biopsy specimens.