Beena Kumar
Monash Health, Australia
Title: Role of immunohistochemistry and biobanking in targeted cancer therapy
Biography
Biography: Beena Kumar
Abstract
Chemotherapy which has been the standard therapeutic regimen for cancer has the disadvantages of conforming to the “one size fits all” style. These standard drugs fail to distinguish malignant versus normal tissue, thus bringing along a range of adverse effects. Targeted treatment on the contrary show a greater selectivity for tumor cells and causes less damage to normal cells. It is to be noted that morphologically distinct tumours show variable biological characteristics and response to treatment. It is thus becoming important to identify these targets within the cancer tissue which include the tumour cells and the tumour microenvironment (ie, stromal cells, microvessels, and host’s immune cells), all of which could serve as potential treatment targets. Most of these biomarkers were earlier detected by molecular techniques. These tests are expensive and not easily accessible. Immunohistochemistry is an excellent surrogate to identify the proteins / targets in question. Though widely used, this technique comes with its share of challenges which could be at the preanalytical, analytical and post analytical levels. It is highly mandatory to establish robust methodologies within the laboratory to obtain the right answer, which would ultimately benefit patient management / response to treatment. The development of new treatments or diagnostics is facilitated through biomedical research which has the potential to significantly improve patient outcomes. With the advent of personalised medicine and genomic medicine, the different arms of research such as basic research, translational research, clinical research and clinical practice have merged .
