The microscopic quantitative evaluation of the FISH analysis is a time-consuming, fatigue and error-prone method that requires at least two qualified investigators. For a large number of samples, it would be sensible to introduce automatic counting into the routine, which is possible using a motorized fluorescence microscope with appropriate software.
The purpose of the study was to compare the results of the FISH analysis obtained by manual microscopic examination with the results obtained by automatic counting. For some DNA probes cut-off values for automatic analysis and quality control parameters for automatic FISH analysis were determined. The repeatability of automatic evaluation and comparison of the speed of analysis between manual and automatic counting were also observed.
The study included 85 slides, with samples belonging to 55 patients. Samples were harvested after 24–72 hours cultivation. Samples were applied to object glasses, labeled with different DNA probes, then the FISH investigation was conducted. The slides were first evaluated manually and then automatically.
It was observed that only probes which detected signals amplification or loss can be used and even those with certain limits. For some proportion of positive signals, software has to be used to manually reallocate cells according to the pattern of signals to confirm or reject the presence of a chromosomal rearrangement. Automatic counting correctly identifies about 75–85 % of cell nuclei, while we need to reallocate about 15–25 %. The proportion of unallocated (excluded) cells is different depending on the presence of the added allocation classes. Without added classes, the proportion is about 15 %, otherwise much more. There are no statistically significant differences between methods in positive samples (p > 0.05). Correlation between manual and automatic method of counting is mostly very good to excellent. It was not possible to validate the translocation and break-apart probes, because automatic counting already had difficulties caused by negative (normal) slides. Possible causes and possible solutions for this are listed in the study. Reproducibility of automatic evaluation, both the reproducibility of the entire analysis as well as the counting itself is appropriate. This is also true for the speed of analysis which is completely comparable between manual evaluation and automatic counting. Therefore, only for probes with numerical changes of signals it would be sensible to introduce automatic counting into the routine.
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