Marx A, Wandrey T, Simon P et al. Hum Pathol 2009;40:166–73.
In this study, a microarray and immunohistochemical analysis of colonic biopsy samples from IBD patients was performed in order to identify candidate markers for dysplasia in IBD. Of the neoplastic tissue samples analyzed, 76% coexpressed α-methylacyl coenzyme A racemase and p53, compared with just 0.6% of non-neoplastic tissue samples. The investigators conclude that immunostaining colonic tissue for α-methylacyl coenzyme A racemase/p53 may be useful for confirming a diagnosis of dysplasia in IBD.
Dysplasia in colitis is difficult for pathologists to diagnose, particularly when the conclusion is “indefinite for dysplasia” or “low-grade dysplasia”. In this study, biopsies from patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) were analyzed by immunohistochemistry and a microarray of biopsies was also stained.