Molecular and Digital Pathology Unit

The Molecular and Digital Pathology Unit (MDPU) supports research groups at IEO, or in collaborating Institutions, in the execution of large-scale experiments utilizing human pathological material for the identification of novel tumor markers for diagnostic and/or prognostic applications, or of cancer targets for drug discovery efforts. The MDPU provides expertise and specific services for tissue processing (FFPE/fresh/frozen samples), tissue microarray (TMA) construction, tissue sectioning, slide staining and analysis (mostly IHC, ISH), and pathology material storage. The MDPU also supports mouse pathology work, providing a dedicated space and technical assistance to users.

In close collaboration with the Pathology Department at IEO, the MDPU has access to tissue archives dating back to 1994, when IEO was established. These archives are an invaluable source of patient material that can be used for the construction and continuous replenishment of ad hoc TMAs. Thanks to data stored by the IEO Tumor Registry, all arrayed tissues are linked to complete clinicopathological information and follow-up data. Thus, the MDPU can provide support to large-scale studies that require case collections with high quality follow-up data and/or dedicated TMAs.