Fluorescence in situ hybridization: molecular probes for diagnosis of pediatric neoplastic diseases.

Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) has become an important tool for diagnosing neoplasia in children. With probes designed to identify specific chromosomes and chromosomal regions, FISH is commonly used to detect the specific chromosomal abnormalities associated with hematologic diseases and solid tumors. Variations of FISH currently being investigated, such as comparative genomic hybridization, multicolor FISH, and microchip arrays, will probably result in additional uses of FISH in both research and clinical cytogenetic laboratories. Although FISH has disadvantages when compared with conventional cytogenetics and molecular methods, FISH will continue to be important in analyzing chromosomal abnormalities of tumors in children.