Streamlining the OncoScan® Array Procedure for Use in a Clinical Laboratory.

Microarray analysis has found tremendous utility in the clinical laboratory testing for detection of copy number changes (CNCs) and loss of heterozygosity (LOH). Recently the OncoScan® array was introduced as a tool for identification of CNCs and LOH in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded oncology samples. The objective of this study was to identify steps in the OncoScan procedure that could be modified to make the process more efficient and technician-friendly in the clinical laboratory setting. Eighteen samples previously processed according to the manufacturer-recommended protocol were reprocessed using a modified protocol. The two primary modifications to the protocol included the elimination of a brief "chill and spin" step and an adjustment to the overnight hybridization temperature to allow for simultaneous hybridization of OncoScan and CytoScan® arrays. A comparison of paired samples processed using both protocols showed that our modified protocol performs similarly to the manufacturer-recommended protocol, yielding equivalent quality control metrics and calls.