Whole-slide laser microdissection for tumour enrichment

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Genomics
• Pathology

Background:

• Precision oncology requires robust tissue processing for genome-scale analysis.
• Clinical implementation of tumor sequencing faces challenges with fresh tissue acquisition.
• Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues offer a viable alternative for molecular profiling.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a flexible tissue processing strategy for precision oncology.
• To enable differential selection of tumor and normal cells from FFPE tissues.
• To facilitate whole genome and transcriptome sequencing from clinical samples.

Main Methods:

• A semi-automated laser microdissection method was developed.
• The method processes entire slide-mounted tissue sections.
• High-quality nucleic acids were extracted from small amounts of FFPE tissue.

Main Results:

• Tumor material enrichment from mixed samples reached up to 67%.
• Sufficient nucleic acid yield was achieved for whole genome and transcriptome sequencing.
• Sequence data quality was adequate for clinical programs like Personalized OncoGenomics (POG).

Conclusions:

• The developed method provides a practical solution for tumor cell enrichment from FFPE tissues.
• This approach supports the clinical application of genome-scale technologies in precision oncology.
• The technique enables comprehensive genomic profiling from routinely collected clinical samples.