Conventional and multicolor FICTION as tools for the interdisciplinar study of hematological neoplasms

Abstract

Interdisciplinary technologies allowing a comprehensive characterization of cancer cells are becoming increasingly important in the routine diagnostics and research of hematological neoplasms, and in malignancies in general. One of those methods is the FICTION technique (Fluorescence Immunophenotyping and Interphase Cytogenetics as a Tool for the Investigation of Neoplasms). This technique allows the simultaneous study of the basic morphology as well as immunophenotypic and genetic markers of tumor cells. However, the low number of fluorescent substances utilized in a single assay restricts the number of markers that can be studied by FICTION. Recently, a multicolor variant has been developed and termed M-FICTION which in addition to cellular morphology and immunophenotype allows the investigation of multiple chromosomal aberrations in only one assay. In the present review, we present a detailed overview on the conventional and multicolor FICTION techniques and we discuss their multiple applications in the field of hematological neoplasms.