The Challenge of Liver Cancer Assessment
With almost one million new cases yearly, liver cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world and the 3rd most common cause of cancer related mortality. Determining whether a malignant liver mass is a primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), an intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC), or a metastatic carcinoma is of major clinical significance.
Highly Sensitive and Specific Detection of Albumin Messenger RNA (mRNA)
Detection of albumin using immunohistochemistry (IHC) proved challenging primarily due to its ubiquitous presence as a serum protein. The application of RNA in situ hybridization (ISH) technologies, such as our RNAscope, for the detection of albumin mRNA rather than protein successfully addressed this issue. RNAscope is highly sensitive and specific due to its unique double Z probe design, resulting in an extremely high signal-to-noise ratio relative to traditional RNA ISH. The technology allows pathologists to visualize, localize, and quantify expression of a variety of markers with an easy-to-interpret chromogenic format.
Features
• Highly sensitive and specific detection of albumin mRNA in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC)
• Powerful evaluation tool for distinguishing ICC from extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ECC), metastatic adenocarcinoma to the liver, and carcinoma of unknown origin
• Strong hybridization signal and low background allow for definitive visualization of albumin expression vs. IHC
• Automated, easy-to-perform assay allows for clear and reliable chromogenic detection of albumin in histologic sections
