Specimen requirements - molecular haematology - somatic analysis / acquired cancer

Refer to the specimen requirements and referring samples page for general information (including high risk samples and labelling and packaging requirements).

Details of specific sample requirements for molecular genetic tests in the context of acquired cancer testing are provided below.

Blood samples - DNA extraction and molecular testing

EDTA tubes only.
Transport at room temperature (or refrigerated) to arrive within three days of collection.
Volume: Adults >4mls, Children >2mls, Fetal/Neonates 1ml.

EDTA tubes only.
Transport at room temperature (or refrigerated) to arrive within three days of collection (send by courier if necessary; delay will lead to loss of RNA within cells).
Volume: 8ml-20ml.

Transport at room temperature (or refrigerated).
Volume: >30ul - contact us for more information.
Further information: overnight courier transport is preferable for MRD analysis.

EDTA tubes only.
Transport at room temperature (or refrigerated) to arrive within three days of collection.

Samples with >30 percent neoplastic nuclei across the cut surface: ~50 µm FFPE tissue provided as scrolled sections cut at 6-8µm in an appropriately labelled 1.5ml microcentrifuge ('Eppendorf') tube.
Samples with <30 percent neoplastic nuclei across the cut surface: Ten serial 5 micron sections (or five if marked tumour area >2cm2 or up to 15 for very small samples) mounted on microscope slides. Multiple sections can be placed on a single slide. Microtome blade and water-bath should be cleaned thoroughly before cutting sections to avoid cross-contamination and false positive results.
Please also include an H&E stained section from the same block with the tumour boundary marked. Percentage of neoplastic content in the marked area should be >30 percent.
Cytological material should be processed as FFPE tissue and sections provided as above, or the maximum available material (smears, touch preps etc.) provided on slides.
*In addition to DNA based testing we are able to arrange M4.2 from a partner laboratory; if this is required please send an additional 5x scrolled sections in an appropriately labelled microcentrifuge ('Eppendorf') tube.
Material can be transported at room temperature.

For Cancer Genetics: ten unstained serial slides with 5 micron (µm) thick sections (or five if marked tumour area >2cm2 or up to 15 for very small samples) mounted on plain glass slides. Multiple sections can be placed on a single slide.
For Clonality: ten unstained serial slides with 5 micron (µm) thick sections per request on plain glass slides.
Microtome blade and water-bath should be cleaned thoroughly before cutting sections to avoid cross-contamination and false positive results.
Please also include a H&E stained slide from the same block with the tumour boundary marked. Percentage of neoplastic content in the marked area should be >30 percent.
(Samples from which the tumours content areas is less than <30 percent may be tested, but the low tumours content will compromise the clinical sensitivity of the assay leading to potential false negative results).
Slides need to be in a slide box and packaged with sufficient padding.
Alternatively, a single core punch from the FFPE tissue block encompassing the area with the highest density of malignant cells can be sent (along with an estimation of tumour percentage in that region).
Cytological material should be processed as FFPE tissue and sections provided as above, or the maximum available material (smears, touch preps etc) provided on slides.
Tubes / slides should be labelled with at least two identifiers, preferably with the case number (cellular pathology reference) and patient surname.
Transport at room temperature.

Sample requirements for whole genome sequencing for blood, bone marrow or other samples requiring DNA extraction are as above.

Sample requirements for whole genome sequencing are available on the website:

For specific queries about WGS email: bwc.centralsouthglh@nhs.net

Transport at room temperature (or refrigerated).
Volume: required amounts are dependent on the tests requested - as a guide NGS panel analysis needs 150ng at a concentration no less than 10ng/ul but less DNA is required for other tests - contact us for more information.
dWGS requires a minimum 500ug DNA at a minimum concentration of 12ng/ul.
Further information: overnight courier transport is preferable for urgent samples, e.g. for prenatal analysis; please notify the laboratory if DNA has been eluted into EDTA containing solution.