Application of the microarray technique to cell blocks

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether the technique ofmicroarray construction can be applied to paraffin-embedded cell block specinmens. STUDY DESIGN: We used a manual microarray method for construction of a well-aligned cell microarray. First we evaluated the cellularity of the cell block and assigned the cases to the null, low, moderate or high cellularity category. Second, based on the different cellularity, we constructed 25 specimen cylinders into 1 block. We used routine hematoxylin-eosin (H-E) stain and immunocytochemistry (ICC) on the slide. RESULTS: All cell microarray paraffin block shaping and specimen cylinder arraying were finished in 1 step, so the specimen cylinders and the paraffin blocks of the cell microarray could very easily be incorporated. No sample was lost during the H-E staining process. However, a few samples fell off partially during the ICC process. Additionally, we observed that the higher cellularity groups yielded a better outcome as compared to the lower cellularity groups. CONCLUSION: This study introduced a very simple and economical technique for the creation of cell microarrays from cell blocks. This procedure should acquaint cytopathologists with microarray technology and encourage its use.