Book Review
Bone Marrow Immunohistochemistry
Reviewed by Marciano D. Reis, MD, FRCPC, Alden Chesney, MD, FACP
Marciano D. Reis, MD, FRCPC, is associate professor at the University of Toronto; acting chief, Department of Laboratory Hematology, University Health Network; chief of the Department of Clinical Pathology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Women’s College Hospital; and director of Transfusion Medicine Collaborative, Toronto, Ontario. E-mail: Marciano.reis@sunnybrook.ca. Alden Chesney, MD, FACP, is a hematological pathologist in the Department of Clinical Pathology, and an assistant professor, University of Toronto, Departments of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario. E-mail: Alden.chesney@sunnybrook.ca.
Bone Marrow Immunohistochemistry
E.E. Torlakovic, K. Naresh, and R.D. Brunning
ASCP Press Chicago, 2009
The past decades have seen enormous advances in the understanding of the biology of hematological disorders, and these advances are linked to the diagnostic workup of such entities. Disease classification now requires the application of several diagnostic methodologies to produce as accurate a classification as possible, as classification often carries prognostic information too. Practising hematopathologists are required to be fully familiar with cytogenetic and molecular genetic as well as immunophenotypical studies (flow cytometry and immunohistochemical [IHC] analysis) of hematological disorders. These diagnostic modalities often complement each other and determine the extent to which they should be applied to any specific case. However, they may be quite bewildering and challenging as we strive to simultaneously be knowledgeable, up to date, fiscally responsible, and advocates of evidence-based medical practice.
The utility of IHC requires the judicious use of antibodies in the context of optimal technical conditions and expert interpretation of the tests. Bone Marrow Immunohistochemistry, by E.E. Torlakovic, K. Naresh, and R.D. Brunning, emphasizes all these points and constitutes an invaluable source of well-organized and visually exquisite information. The preface and the introduction summarize how IHC has evolved and in what clinical and technical contexts it can provide significant diagnostic and prognostic information. Throughout the book, one can find indications of websites that are quite useful educational resources, and the pertinent literature citations.
The chapters have detailed illustrations of a long list of markers used in IHC of the bone marrow; these are not meant to be exhaustive but, rather, focus on the most commonly used or clinically relevant markers. As such, the book is much more informative than simply a comprehensive atlas or a catalogue of these markers, and thus constitutes a valuable educational and technical resource to hematopathologists at any stage of their career.
The senior author of this book is Dr. Emina Torlakovic, a colleague from the University of Saskatchewan, who has excellent credentials and who has assumed a leadership role in advocating and promoting national standards for IHC in the general practice of pathology. But her first passion is, of course, hematological pathology, as this book so beautifully demonstrates.
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