Diagnostics of various types of cancer, including lymphomas, is a continuously evolving field. A wide array of methods is currently used to accurately determine lymphoma markers in cytological and histological samples, including histology, immunohistochemistry/ immunocytochemistry (IHC/ICC), flow cytometry, and molecular techniques. New platforms are regularly introduced to the market with the aim of improving and accelerating lymphoma diagnostics; one such IHC/ICC platform is Dako Omnis. The purpose of this master’s thesis was to evaluate the efficiency and reliability of the fully automated Dako Omnis platform for ICC staining of lymphoma markers in cytological samples and to compare the results with those obtained using the automated BenchMark Ultra platform, which is routinely used at the Institute of Oncology Ljubljana. On the Dako Omnis platform, protocols were optimized and validated for lymphoma markers CD45, CD3, CD20, CD5, CD10, CD30, CD15, κ, λ, Ki-67, and PAX5. Since the development of many lymphomas is associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, a new protocol was also introduced for detecting EBV in cytological samples. The study found that the Dako Omnis platform is capable of performing ICC staining, however, for most lymphoma markers, the results were not entirely comparable with those obtained using the BenchMark Ultra platform or flow cytometry. The findings suggest that while the Dako Omnis platform shows potential, further improvements and standardization are necessary before it can be used routinely on cytological samples. Specifically, ICC staining should be optimized and validated on cell blocks, while ICC staining on cytospins should continue to be carried out using the BenchMark Ultra platform.
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