FFPE Tumor Tissue Macrodissection: A Technique to Obtain Specific Tumorous Tissue from Unstained Specimens

Identify cancer tissues of the tumor area most suitable for macrodissection according to the appropriate H&E stained section. Then, macrodissect the cancer tissue based on the marked section. Take a clean razor blade and gently scrape the cancer tissue off of the slide, trying to keep it in one piece. Use the pipette tip to transfer the scraped tissue into the lysis buffer vial.

Repeat this process with the rest of the slides. After all the tissue is in the tube, use the tip to make sure the tissue is fully submerged and is not stuck to the wall. Add 20 microliters of a subtilisin-related serine protease to the vial and gently flick to mix. Place the vial in a 55 degree Celsius heat block for at least 4 hours or overnight, making sure to slightly vortex after 2 hours.