• All IHC stains will include a positive control tissue

• NKX3.1 can be used to identify prostatic adenocarcinoma, in particular when metastatic, with a higher sensitivity and specificity than either PSA or PSAP
• NKX3.1 will also stain nodular hyperplasia of the prostate

Submit a formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded tissue block

Formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue block

FFPE tissue section mounted on a charged, unstained slide

Ambient (preferred)

• Unlabeled/mislabeled block
• Insufficient tissue
• Slides broken beyond repair

Immunohistochemical staining and microscopic examination

If requested, an interpretive report will be provided

Specifications

• NKX3.1 is an androgen-regulated homeodomain gene whose expression is predominantly localized to prostate epithelium
• NKX3.1 is located on chromosome 8p21.2, a region that shows loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in 12-89% of high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) and 35% to 86% of prostatic adenocarcinomas
• Expression of NKX3.1 is highly specific to prostate cancer but has been also seen in breast cancer (invasive lobular carcinoma), with little or no staining in a large number of other tumor types

Staining pattern

• Strong nuclear staining
• Negative staining includes cytoplasmic (non-nuclear) staining patterns

References

1. Bethel CR, Faith D, Li X, Guan B, Hicks JL, Lan F, Jenkins RB, Bieberich CJ,De Marzo AM. Decreased NKX3.1 protein expression in focal prostatic atrophy, prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia, and adenocarcinoma: association with gleason score and chromosome 8p deletion. Cancer Res. 2006 Nov 15;66(22):10683-90. PubMed PMID: 17108105.
2. Gurel B, Ali TZ, Montgomery EA, Begum S, Hicks J, Goggins M, Eberhart CG,Clark DP, Bieberich CJ, Epstein JI, De Marzo AM. NKX3.1 as a marker of prostatic origin in metastatic tumors. Am J Surg Pathol. 2010 Aug;34(8):1097-105. doi:10.1097/PAS.0b013e3181e6cbf3. PubMed PMID: 20588175; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3072223.