title: Preservation of fine-needle aspiration specimens for future use in RNA-based molecular testing.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The application of ancillary molecular testing is becoming more important for the diagnosis and classification of disease. The use of fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy as the means of sampling tumors in conjunction with molecular testing could be a powerful combination. FNA is minimally invasive, cost effective, and usually demonstrates accuracy comparable to diagnoses based on excisional biopsies. Quality control (QC) and test validation requirements for development of molecular tests impose a need for access to pre-existing clinical samples. Tissue banking of excisional biopsy specimens is frequently performed at large research institutions, but few have developed protocols for preservation of cytologic specimens. This study aimed to evaluate cryopreservation of FNA specimens as a method of maintaining cellular morphology and ribonucleic acid (RNA) integrity in banked tissues.
  
  
  METHODS
  FNA specimens were obtained from fresh tumor resections, processed by using a cryopreservation protocol, and stored for up to 27 weeks. Upon retrieval, samples were made into slides for morphological evaluation, and RNA was extracted and assessed for integrity by using the Agilent Bioanalyzer (Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, Calif).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cryopreserved specimens showed good cell morphology and, in many cases, yielded intact RNA. Cases showing moderate or severe RNA degradation could generally be associated with prolonged specimen handling or sampling of necrotic areas.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  FNA specimens can be stored in a manner that maintains cellular morphology and RNA integrity necessary for studies of gene expression. In addition to addressing quality control (QC) and test validation needs, cytology banks will be an invaluable resource for future molecular morphologic and diagnostic research studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298-0662, USA. acladd@mcvh-vcu.edu
authors.forename: Amy C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Ladd
authors.forename: Emerald
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: O'Sullivan-Mejia
authors.forename: Tasha
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lea
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Perry
authors.forename: Catherine I
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Dumur
authors.forename: Ema
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dragoescu
authors.forename: Carleton T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Garrett
authors.forename: Celeste N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Powers
mesh_terms: D044963:Biopsy, Fine-Needle; D003584:Cytological Techniques; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D011309:Preservation, Biological / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D011786:Quality Control; D020871:RNA Stability; D012334:RNA, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013997:Time Factors; D014015:Tissue Banks / Q000592:standards
chemical_list: D012334:RNA, Neoplasm