The Dana-Farber/ Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC) SPORE in Prostate Cancer Tissue and Pathology Core has provided and will continue to provide collaborating investigators multiple pathology services to support the studies outlined in the four SPORE Research Projects as well as to all current and future Career Development and Development Projects. Through continued collaboration to bring all manner of pathology-based scientific support to all SPORE linked projects, the Tissue and Pathology Core will utilize the multiple technologies of the Center for Molecular Oncologic Pathology. The Core will continue to supervise the frozen tissue and serum bank efforts that have been ongoing for the past 10 years as well as construct from the corresponding archival tissue tissue micorarrays to improve and streamline all immunohistochemical analyses. By performing all aspects of pathologic analysis, the Core will support all tissue based projects and ensure that appropriately classified prostate cancer tissue samples are used and supplied for all tissue-based DNA-, RNA-, and protein-based analyses proposed. In addition, The Core will also provide a variety of services critical to successful molecular analyses of mouse and human prostatic tumors including: histopathologic review and quality control analysis of all tumor samples utilized in experimental studies; cryostat microdissection of frozen tissue samples and slide macrodissection of paraffin-embedded tissues to ensure high neoplastic cellularity for samples utilized in experimental studies; laser capture microdissection (LCM) to provide ultra-pure tumor samples and microscopic sub-populations of cells (such as stem cell populations); performance and analysis of routine immunohistochemical (IHC) stains; optimization of commercially available antibodies for applications in IHC; performance and analysis of a broad range of IHC stains in mouse and human tissues in direct support of the projects; performance of all nuclei acid extractions from all tissue types (fresh frozen and archival FFPE; and Nanostring based transcription analyses using the nCounter assay. Finally, the Core will be extremely flexible in adapting to the best new technologies to meet the scientific goals of the Projects, working to leverage enhanced improvements on all fronts, so as to provide cost savings and improved sample throughput for all methodologies important to all SPORE related projects.
With the varied immunohistochemistry-based, transcriptional-based, and genome-based technologies addressing the scientific aims of the current Prostate SPORE, the presence a centralized lab supporting each project will facilitate a reduction in replicated methodologies, and will help to enhance our knowledge of molecular mechanisms operating in prostate cancer, and ultimately guiding novel diagnostic and therapeutic efforts.
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