Breast Cancer Immunohistochemistry

Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is a crucial technique for detecting specific proteins in breast cancer tissue samples. By using antibodies to bind target antigens, IHC visualizes protein expression patterns within the tissue, aiding in diagnosis, subtype determination, and treatment decisions. Alfa Cytology offers a comprehensive suite of immunohistochemistry services for breast cancer research.

Introduction of Immunohistochemistry

Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is the application of an antigen-antibody reaction, in which a chemical reaction causes a chromogenic agent (fluorescein, enzymes, metal ions, isotopes) that labels the antibody to develop color, thereby identifying antigens (peptides and proteins) within tissue cells, and studying their localization, characterization and relative quantification. Immunohistochemical detection is not only an important auxiliary method for pathological diagnosis and differential diagnosis of breast cancer (BC), but also the main method for molecular typing of BC and screening of markers for precision therapy.

Fig.1 Fluorescent labeling of different types of circulating tumor cells in breast cancer. (Chai J, et al., 2023)

Our Services

Alfa Cytology can provide you with BC immunohistochemistry services. IHC is increasingly used in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of difficult breast lesions. We have multiple types of IHC technical services, can provide you with one-stop service from slice processing to color development and mounting, and help you choose efficient and suitable IHC indicators. Our services include:

• Immunofluorescence
  Using the principle of antigen-antibody-specific binding, the known antibody is first labeled with fluorescein, which is used as a probe to check the corresponding antigen in cells or tissues. When the fluorescein in the antigen-antibody complex is irradiated by the excitation light, it will emit fluorescence of a certain wavelength, so that the location of a certain antigen in the tissue can be determined, and quantitative analysis can also be performed. Immunofluorescence technology has strong specificity, high sensitivity, quickness and simplicity, and is mostly used in clinical pathological diagnosis and testing.
• Immunoenzyme labeling
  Antibodies labeled with enzymes interact with tissues or cells, and then add enzyme substrates to generate colored insoluble products or particles with a certain electron density. By light microscopy or electron microscopy, the localization of various antigenic components on the cell surface and in the cells is studied. The main advantages of immunoenzyme labeling technology are accurate positioning, good contrast, stained specimens that can be stored for a long time, and are suitable for light and electron microscope research.
• Immunocolloidal gold
  Colloidal gold-labeled primary antibodies, secondary antibodies, or other molecules that can specifically bind to immunoglobulins (such as staphylococcal protein A) can be used as probes to conduct qualitative, localized, and even quantitative research on antigens in tissues or cells.

Advantages of Immunohistochemistry

• Strong specificity
• High sensitivity
• Accurate positioning, combination of form and function

Application Fields

Alfa Cytology has many years of experience in BC histopathological analysis. Based on our advanced platform and experienced scientists, we can provide you with comprehensive, mature, reproducible, and high-quality histopathology services. If you are interested in learning about our BC histopathology analysis services, please contact us. We will give you a professional and competitively priced strategy that suits your needs as quickly as possible.