Analysis of DNA extracted from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues by enzymatic amplification and hybridization with sequence-specific oligonucleotides

The “polymerase chain reaction” (PCR) procedure for amplifying specific gene sequences has recently been combined with sequence-specific oligonucleotide (SSO) probe hybridization to develop a highly sensitive, rapid, and simple method for analyzing allelic variations in genomic DNA (1). In the present study we have used PCR SSO to analyze partially purified DNA extracted from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue specimens. We report that this DNA, including samples that were partially degraded, proved to be suitable for analysis by the PCR SSO procedure.