Fluorescent in situ hybridization on isolated tumor cell nuclei: a sensitive method for 1p and 19q deletion analysis in paraffin-embedded oligodendroglial tumor specimens.

In oligodendroglial neoplasms, losses of chromosomal material at 1p and 19q associate with chemosensitivity and prolonged survival. Thus, 1p/19q testing is increasingly proposed for use in brain tumor diagnosis and prognostic assessment. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) is a classic technique for investigation of 1p/19q status in paraffin-embedded tissues. A major limitation of this method is truncation of tumor cell nuclei complicating assessment of hybridization results. In our study, we analyzed 1p and 19q status in a series of 79 oligodendroglial neoplasms (49 oligodendrogliomas, 30 oligoastrocytomas, WHO: 57 Grade II, 22 Grade III tumors) and controls (gliotic brain tissue: n = 4, diffuse low-grade astrocytoma: n = 4) using FISH on isolated whole tumor cell nuclei, prepared as cytospin preparations, thus bypassing the problem of nuclear truncation. For interpretation of FISH results, we used consensus criteria as defined by the SIOP-Europe Neuroblastoma Study Group for analysis of peripheral neuroblastic tumors. FISH yielded interpretable results in 98.7% for 1p and 92.1% for 19q. Chromosome 1p/19q alterations comprised deletions (1p: 79.5%, 19q: 80%) and imbalances (1p: 11.5%, 19q: 12.9%). 1p aberrations were more frequent in oligodendroglioma than in oligoastrocytoma (100% versus 75.9%, P =.001). The frequency of 1p/19q alterations was not significantly different in WHO Grade II or Grade III tumors or in primary and recurrent tumors. We conclude that FISH on isolated cell nuclei, with application of the SIOP Europe Neuroblastoma consensus criteria, is a sensitive method for detection and interpretation of 1p and 19q aberrations in paraffin-embedded tissue specimens of oligodendroglial neoplasms.