1. ¹Department of Pathology, Medizinische Hochschule, Hannover, Germany
2. ²Department of Visceral and Transplant Surgery, Medizinische Hochschule, Hannover, Germany

Correspondence: Prof. Dr. Hans Kreipe, Institut für Pathologie der Medizinischen Hochschule Hannover, Carl-Neuberg-Strasse 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany. fax: +49-511-532-4521; e-mail: kreipe.hans@mh-hannover.de.

Accepted 11 December 2001.

Abstract

Differentiation between well-differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and nonmalignant lesions with increased cellular proliferation may be difficult in needle biopsies. Based on recurrent chromosome aberrations known for HCC, we developed a nonfluorescent in situ hybridization technique that allows combination with morphological analysis in bright-field microscopy. Fourteen biopsies of HCC and 31 samples of regenerative nodules (n = 10), chronic hepatitis (n = 10), fibrosis or cirrhosis of unknown origin (n = 5), focal nodular hyperplasia (n = 2), primary biliary cirrhosis (n = 2), steatosis (n = 1), and adenomatous hyperplasia (n = 1) were analyzed with probes specific for the centromeric regions of chromosomes 1, 6, 7, and 8. After microwave pretreatment and in situ hybridization, signals were detected using a tyramine-based system and AEC as substrate. Evaluation of signals was done by conventional bright-field microscopy. Using this approach, aberrant counts were seen for at least one chromosome in 12/14 cases of HCC. In contrast, none of the nonmalignant lesions revealed aberrant counts for any of the chromosomes analyzed. In conclusion, this new combination of in situ hybridization and tyramine amplification allows fast and reliable evaluation of chromosome aberrations in a histomorphological context similar to paraffin immunohistochemistry. Registration of imbalances contributes to a reliable differentiation between malignant and nonmalignant lesions of the liver.