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Original research
An introduction of an easy-operating and economical technique for tissue microarray preparation
  1. Yi-Jing Chen,
  2. Chun-Mei Yang,
  3. Jiang-Sheng Huang,
  4. Ping Wang,
  5. Yan-Hua Lv,
  6. Cheng Tang,
  7. Wei Deng
  1. Department of Pathology, Kunshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Kunshan, Jiangsu, China
  1. Correspondence to Dr Wei Deng, Department of Pathology, Kunshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Kunshan, Jiangsu, China; dengweikszyy{at}163.com

Abstract

Aim Tissue microarray (TMA) is a powerful and effective tool for in situ tissue analysis. However, manual TMA construction methods showed varied qualities. This study aimed to raise a standardised TMA preparation technique that can be easily operated and is economical.

Methods A sampling needle was used to punch the tissue rods from the donor block and holes in the recipient block. To indicate the dots’ positions and ensure vertical punching, a novel auxiliary device made using commercial three-dimensional printing technology was attached. The TMA block was made up of tissue rods and a recipient block.

Results A 77-rod (7×11) TMA block was constructed. The rows and columns were fixed in straight lines. There was no specimen loss during the process of embedding.

Conclusions An alternative method for the construction of TMA blocks that met the basic requirement of many laboratories and can be effortlessly performed was presented.

  • micro array
  • colorectal cancer
  • gastric pathology

http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jclinpath-2019-206142

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    Footnotes

    • Handling editor Tahir S Pillay.

    • Contributors Y-JC was responsible for the design of the 3D auxiliary device, TMA block construction, and the written of the paper. C-MY and J-SH were responsible for tissue rods extraction and recipient block construction. PW was responsible for language and format editing. Y-HL and CT were responsible for giving informed consent to participate and donor block construction. WD was responsible for experimental design and technical guidance.

    • Funding This study received financial support from the Suzhou science and technology project No. SYSD2016038.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent for publication Not required.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Data availability statement All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information.