
Formalin fixation and paraffin embedding is the most frequently used method employed for tissue preservation and long term storage in clinical settings. The principal use for formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues is in histology, where histological stains, combined with disease-specific immunophenotyping, enable pathologists to morphologically examine representative FFPE tissue sections in order to make medical diagnoses. Once a diagnosis has been reached, FFPE tissue blocks are put in long-term storage. Consequently, FFPE tissues represent a vast resource for human disease research, often available in sufficient numbers to conduct significantly powered studies. Although high reagent costs, thin blocks, and the presence of contaminating non-tumor tissue, as well as fixation-associated nucleic acid degradation are often inhibitory to studies, careful processing and the use of advanced technologies can yield exceptional results from FFPE samples. This collection will look at methods and technologies that are compatible with the generation of high-quality data using FFPE tissue samples. Although FFPE is the most prevalent form of collecting and preserving clinical tissues, other formats such as snap freezing and perfusion solutions like RNAlater are becoming increasingly common due to their ability to preserve tissue without crosslinking. Thus, this collection will also include methods and technologies compatible with alternative non-FFPE preservation formats.