Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 30, 2026

Two-Step Reverse Transcription Droplet Digital PCR Protocols for SARS-CoV-2 Detection and Quantification
Published on: March 31, 2021
Droplet digital PCR as an alternative to FISH for MYCN amplification detection in human neuroblastoma FFPE samples
Dinesh Babu Somasundaram1, Sheeja Aravindan2, Zhongxin Yu3
1Departments of Radiation Oncology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, 940 Stanton L. Young Boulevard, Oklahoma City, OK, 73104, USA.
Background:
MYCN amplification directly correlates with the clinical course of neuroblastoma and poor patient survival, and serves as the most critical negative prognostic marker. Although fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) remains the gold standard for clinical diagnosis of MYCN status in neuroblastoma, its limitations warrant the identification of rapid, reliable, less technically challenging, and inexpensive alternate approaches.
Methods:
In the present study, we examined the concordance of droplet digital PCR (ddPCR, in combination with immunohistochemistry, IHC) with FISH for MYCN detection in a panel of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) human neuroblastoma samples.
Results:
In 112 neuroblastoma cases, ddPCR analysis demonstrated a 96-100% concordance with FISH. Consistently, IHC grading revealed 92-100% concordance with FISH. Comparing ddPCR with IHC, we observed a concordance of 95-98%.
Conclusions:
The results demonstrate that MYCN amplification status in NB cases can be assessed with ddPCR, and suggest that ddPCR could be a technically less challenging method of detecting MYCN status in FFPE specimens. More importantly, these findings illustrate the concordance between FISH and ddPCR in the detection of MYCN status. Together, the results suggest that rapid, less technically demanding, and inexpensive ddPCR in conjunction with IHC could serve as an alternate approach to detect MYCN status in NB cases, with near-identical sensitivity to that of FISH.
Related Concept Videos
PCR
Osmoregulation in Fishes
Alternative RNA Splicing
There are five types of alternative RNA splicing that vary in the ways the pre-mRNA segments are removed or retained in the mature mRNA. The first...
Alternative RNA Splicing
Null and Alternative Hypotheses
The null hypothesis, denoted by H0 is a statement of no difference between the variables—they are not related. This can often be considered the status quo. As a result if you cannot accept the null, it requires some action.
The alternative hypothesis, denoted by H1 or Ha, is a claim about the...
RACE - Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends

