High-resolution analysis of paraffin-embedded and formalin-fixed prostate tumors using comparative genomic hybridization to genomic microarrays.

We have used prostate cancer, the most commonly diagnosed noncutaneous neoplasm among men, to investigate the feasibility of performing genomic array analyses of archival tissue. Prostate-specific antigen and a biopsy Gleason grade have not proven to be accurate in predicting clinical outcome, yet they remain the only accepted biomarkers for prostate cancer. It is likely that distinct spectra of genomic alterations underlie these phenotypic differences, and that once identified, may be used to differentiate between indolent and aggressive tumors.