Abstract
Histopathology and immunohistochemistry constitute the diagnostic gold- standard for most diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Molecular pathology, i.e. the detection of specific DNA or RNA sequences, may be helpful in those cases which remain equivocal. Among the infectious agents that are routinely detected in tissue specimens are mycobacteria, Whipple bacteria, CMV, HSV and HPV. Clonality assays are well established in non- Hodgkin's lymphomas. In carcinomas of the gastrointestinal tract the detection of mutations of Ki-ras, p53 and E-cadherin genes may be diagnostically helpful. Germ line mutations of several genes are important for the diagnosis of hereditary cancer syndromes such as familia adenomatous polyposis (FAP) or hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC). The appropriate molecular genetic method for each case is selected on the base of histopathology and clinical information. The results of the molecular analysis has to be interpreted in the synopsis of morphological and clinical data. In routine diagnostics, molecular pathology should be performed by a specially trained molecular pathologist.
Translated title of the contribution | Role of molecular pathology in tissue diagnostic of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract |
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Original language | German |
Pages (from-to) | 18-24 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Leber Magen Darm |
Volume | 29 |
Issue number | 1 |
State | Published - Jan 1999 |