The objective of this proposal is to develop and validate synthetic calibration standards for clinical immunohistochemical (IHC) assays. IHC assays are the standard of care in cancer diagnosis and surgical pathology, but they suffer from a serious problem with inherent variability. Accuracy in testing is hampered by the lack of standardized test materials, which prevents the establishment of uniform and quantitative methods and diagnostic criteria. Most clinical IHC assays detect cellular antigens that are expensive to produce for use as controls. CytoLogic solved this problem by developing phage display methods to produce peptide mimics of cellular antigens, which serve as surrogates for native antigens. Now, we propose to produce, precise, quantitative IHC calibration standards for use with microscope-based quantitative imaging systems. One set of on-slide calibrators will control for analytic variability, which can result from reagent degradation or assay errors. A second set of processing calibrators will control for pre-analytic variability, which is associated with tissue fixation or antigen retrieval. This work will lead to a Phase II proposal for clinical validation trials for the IHC calibration standards. Development of uniform IHC calibration standards for important pharmacodiagnostic analytes will elevate quality control in the histopathology laboratory to the level of other clinical laboratories that produce quantitative data.

Proposed Commercial Applications

The technology described in this proposal will provide the first commercially produced quantitative standard for quality control of clinical immunohistochemical assays. Standards are important to identify sources of assay variability and to ensure that patient test results are accurate and reproducible regardless of which laboratory performs them.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Small Business Innovation Research Grants (SBIR) - Phase I (R43)
Project #
1R43CA094557-01
Application #
6444454
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-SSS-1 (10))
Program Officer
Song, Min-Kyung H
Project Start
2002-06-07
Project End
2003-04-01
Budget Start
2002-06-07
Budget End
2003-04-01
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2002
Total Cost
$310,357
Indirect Cost
Name
Cytologix Corporation
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Cambridge
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02139
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Sompuram, Seshi R; Vani, Kodela; Messana, Elizabeth et al. (2004) A molecular mechanism of formalin fixation and antigen retrieval. Am J Clin Pathol 121:190-9
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Sompuram, Seshi R; Vani, Kodela; Wei, Lan et al. (2004) A water-stable protected isocyanate glass array substrate. Anal Biochem 326:55-68