DIAGNOSTlC 1MMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY: CURRENT APPLICATIONS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

In this review, the applications of enzyme immunohistochemistry in diagnostic pathologj are discussed. Antibodies for diagnostic use are grouped into eight categories, viz, antibodies for tumour typing, for lymphocyte antigens, to hormones, peptides, amines and hormone receptors, to oncofetal antigens, to oncogenes and their products, to cell proliferation antigens, to infectious agents and for the study of glomerular diseases. The practical applications of these antibodies are reviewed with particular emphasis on the use of antibody panels for the identification of anaplastic round cell tumour in adults and children and,of spindle cell neoplasms. Future directions for immunohistochemical techniques include their interphase with molecular biology and their applications in immunoelectron microscopy, in in-situ hybridisation procedures, in automation of routine staining and in image analyses.