Cytokeratin-positive cells in the bone marrow of breast cancer patients and noncancer donors.

Detection of disseminated tumor cells in the bone marrow may provide important prognostic information in breast cancer patients. With few exceptions the number of stained cells scored as cancer is very low; there may be only 1 cell per slide. This makes definitive interpretation of cancer in marrow challenging.

The detection of isolated tumor cells in bone marrow comparing bright-field immunocytochemistry and multicolor immunofluorescence.

Background: The detection of isolated tumor cells in bone marrow by immunocytochemistry (ICC) has been reported to predict progression of early-stage breast cancer. The most common staining procedure uses bright-field ICC with cytokeratin (CK) antibodies to label isolated tumor cells. However, this method can result in false-positive staining events.

Pair correlations of a dilute charged colloidal fluid near a glass wall.

Using confocal microscopy we examine the static structure of low density, highly charged colloidal suspensions near a repulsive glass boundary. We find no sign of an interparticle attraction of the magnitude noted previously.